
i 





Class Hp W- 

Book._ „ HlCs- 

CopyiightN°_ L 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



LABOR 
LAWS AND DECISIONS 



OF THE 



STATE OF NEW YORK 



STATUTES COMPILED AND CASES SUMMARIZED 



BY 

JOHN A. CIPPERLY 

OF THE RENSSELAER COUisTY BAR 



REVISED, WITH ALL AMENDMENTS TO DECEM- 
BER, 1907; AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS 
TO MARCH 1, 1908. 



HANKS AND COMPANY 

Albany, N. Y. 

190S 



** 






JUBIMRY of CONOrHs? 

J Two copies Heceivdti 

MAR 12 5 908 



UUi>yi!giis entry 
OUiSS /4 XXc. Nu. ! 
I COPY 3, 



Copyright, 1904, 
By JOHN A. CIPPERLY. 



Copyright, 1908, 
By JOHN A. CIPPERLY 



PREFACE TO LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



In preparing this work for the press, an attempt has 
been made to arrange, systematize and summarize this 
branch of the law. 

This " Labor, Laws and Decisions," is one of the 
few exceptions to the general rule, that books which 
discuss the principles that lie at the. basis of the law 
relating to any particular subject, are only useful to and 
properly valued by members of the legal profession, and 
its contents should be familiar to every one in any way 
connected with this wide subject. 

Hoping that it will help to satisfy a long felt want, 
this book is dedicated to the public by 

The Author. 
Troy, N. Y., November, 1904. 



PEEFACE TO LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

REVISED AND CONTINUED TO DECEMBER 1907. 

During the three years that have elapsed since 
" Labor, Laws and Decisions " went to press the 
State Legislature has made many alterations in and 
additions to the so-called " Labor Laws " and the vari- 
ous Statutory rules relating thereto, and the Courts 
have handed down many important Decisions appty- 
irig or construing those laws. 

To preserve the usefulness of this work, therefore, 
it has become proper and necessary to revise and con- 
tinue it so as to conform to the conditions of the pres- 
ent, and thereby continue to be both useful to and a 
material help for all classes. 

Dated Troy, N. Y., December, 1907. 

J. A. C. 

ERRATA. 

The first line of Section 18, page 10, should read, " A 
person employing or directing another to perform 
labor "— 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

PARTS I AND II REVISED AND CONTINUED TO 
DECEMBER 1907. 



CONTENTS. 
PART I. 

LAWS IN RELATION TO LABOR. 

AS AMENDED TO AND INCLUDING 1907. 

PART I. 

PAGE 

The " LABOR LAW" Chapter 415 of 1897 as Amended. .1-61, 143-220 

The PENAL CODE, Sections Relative to Labor 62-70, 220-224 

THE CODE CIVIL OF PROCEDURE, Section giving Prefer- 
ence over Contractor 71 

LAWS of 1898, Chapter 671, To Prevent Fraud in Labor 

Organizations 71-72 

LAWS of 1901, Chapter 9, To Create Department of Labor, 

etc., Repealed by Chap. 505 of 1907 72-79, 189-190 

The EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT, Chapter 600 of 1902. . . . 80-83 

HOLIDAYS, PUBLIC ; and Half Holidays, Chapter 39 of 

1902 79-80 

The CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL LAW, Chapter 556 of 1894, 

Title 16, Section 5, as Amended " 459 " 1903;. ..83-85, 225-226 

" 280 " 1905; 

" 585 " 1907;.., 83-85, 204-220 
as to Persons Employing Children Unlawfully. 

LAW, Regulating the Practicing of Barbering, Chapter 

632 of 1903, Repealed by Chap. 256 of 1906 85-90, 139 

SUNDAY BARBERDsG, Chapter 823 of 1895, Amended by 

Chap. 297 of 1907 86-90, 226-227 

LENDERS OF MONEY TO EMPLOYEES, Chapter 77, of 

1904 91 

E MPLOYMENT AGENCIES, Chapter 432 of 1904. Amended 

by Chap. 327 and 328 of 1906 92-97, 227-244 

The RAILROAD LAW, Chapter 565 of 1890, Sections 42, 42a, 
43 and 58. Persons Employed as Drivers, Con- 
ductors, etc 244-247 

The DOMESTIC RELATION LAW, Chapter 272 of 1896, 

Section 42. Payment of Wages to Minor 247 

INSPECTORS OF STEAM VESSELS, ASSIGNMENT OF 

TO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Chapter 520 of 248-249 

1907, Amending Chap. 592 of 1897 

V 



v i CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE, Law in Relation to Cities, 
Chapter 327 of 1900. Article III, Sections 40-57, 
Amended by Chap. 168 of 1902, as to Employees 
Operating Garbage, Crematories, etc 249-257 

TIME OF TAKING EFFECT OF LAWS, Chapter 682 of 1892, 
Article II, Section 43, Constituting Chap. 8 of 
the General Laws, Article II, Section 43 XXV 

The STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION LAW, Chapter 677 of 
1892, Sections 31, 32 as Amended by Chap. 448 of 
1894 : XXV 

The PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION LAW, Chapter 427 of 

1907 257-321 



PART I. LAWS. 

Showing Laws amended, added, repealed, etc. 

THE LABOR LAW. 

1897 Chapter 415, as amended to and including 1907. 

ARTICLE I. 

Sections 1-21 General Provisions. 

Section 1 Short Title , 1-2 

2 Definitions . . 2-3 

3 Hours of Labor amended, Chapter 506, 1906. ... 3-4, 143-145 

4 Violation of Labor Law 4-5 

5 Hours of Labor on street, surface and elevated R. R. 

amended by chapter 243 of 1907 5, 145 

6 Hours of labor in brickyards 5 

7 Regulation of hours of labor on steam, surface and 

elevated railroads 5-6, 146 

7a Added chapter 627 of 1907, Block system, etc 146, 147 

8 Payment of wages by receiver 6 

9 Cash payment of wages, amended by Chapter 316 of 

1906 6, 148 

10 When wages to be paid 6-7 

11 Penalty for violation 7 

12 Assignment of future wages 7 

13 Preference in employment upon public works 7-8 

14 Stones used in the State or municipal works 8-9 

15 Labels, brands, etc. , used by labor organizations 9 

16 Illegal use of labels ; a misdemeanor ; injunction 

proceedings , 9-10 

17 Seats for female employees 10 

18 Scaffolding for the use of employees 10-11 



CONTENTS. yii 

PAGB 

Section 19 Inspection of scaffolding, ropes, blocks, pulleys and 

tackles in cities 11-12 

20 Protection of persons employed on buildings in cities. 

Amended by Chapter 520 of 1905 12-13, 149 

21 Commissioner of labor to enforce provisions of this 

Article . 13-14 



ARTICLE II. 
Chapter 505 of 1907. 15, 150-154 

DEPARTMENT OP LABOR. 

Section 30 Commissioner of Labor 

31 Deputy commissioners 

32 Bureaus 

33 Powers , 

34 Salaries and expenses 

35 Sub-offices ,.,... 

36 Reports 

37 Old Records 

38 Counsel 

Article 2 of said Chapter is renumbered Article III 

and amended 

ARTICLE III. 
Chapter 158 of 1906. 

FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS. 

Sections 40-43 repealed, etc., bureaus abolished 

Commissioner of Labor to apply property, etc 16, 154-157 

ARTICLE III. 
Chapter 505 of 1907. 

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. 

Section 40 Bureau of Labor Statistics 154-157 

41 Duties and Powers 

42 Statistics to be furnished upon request 

ARTICLE IV. 

CONVICT -MADE GOODS. 

Section 50 License for the sale of 18-19 

51 Revocation of license. 19 

52 Annual Statement of license 19 

53 Labeling and marking ; how 19 

54 Duties of Commissioner of Labor relative to viola- 

tion, etc 20 

55 Articles not to apply to goods manufactured for the 

use of the State or municipal corporation 20-21 



viii CONTENTS. 

ARTICLE V. 
Chapter 505 of 1907. 

BUREAU OP FACTORY INSPECTION. 

Section 60 Factory Inspector 

61 Deputies 

62 General powers and duties 

63 Reports 

67 Duties relative to apprentices 

68 Laws to be posted 



PAGE 

, 157-159 



ARTICLE VI. 

FACTORIES. 

Section 70 Employment of minors 23, 159-160 

71 Employment certificates, etc. Amended by Chapter 

518 of 1905 and Chapter 291 of 1907 23-24, 160-166 

72 Contents of certificate 25 

73 School record, what to contain. Amended by Chapter 

291 of 1907 25, 166 

74 Repealed 25 

75 Report of certificates issued 25 

76 Registry of children employed. Amended by Chapter 

493 of 1905 20, 167-168 

77 Hours of labor of minors and women. Amended by 

Chapter 490 of 1906 and Chapter 286 of 1907 and 

by Chapter 507 of 1907 26-27, 169-174 

78 Hours of labor of minors and women. Amended by 

Chapter 507 of 1907 27, 174-175 

79 Enclosure and operation of elevators and hoisting 

shafts ; inspection 27-28 

80 Stairs and doors 28 

81 Protection of employes operating machinery. 

Amended by Chapter 366 of 1906 28-92, 175-176 

82 Fire escapes 29-30 

83 Commissioner of Labor may order erection of fire 

escapes 30 

84 Walls and ceilings 30 

85 Size of rooms , 30-31 

86 Ventilation. Amended by Chapter 490 of 1907.... 31,177 

87 Reporting of accidents. Amended by 216 of 1906. ... 31, 178 

88 Wash-rooms and water-closets. Amended by Chapter 

485 of 1907 * 31-32,179 

89 Time allowed for meals 82 

90 Inspection of factory buildings 32 

91 Inspection of boilers in factories 32-33 

92 Laundries 33 

93 Employment of women and children at polishing or 

buffing 33 



CONTENTS. ix 

PAGE) 

Section 94 Tenant-factories. Added by Chapter 178 of 1906. . . 180-182 
95 Unclean tenant-factories. Added by Chapter 178 of 

1906 182-183 

ARTICLE VII. 

TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 

Section 100 Manufacturing of articles in tenements. Amended 

by Chapter 129 of 1906 34-35-36-37-38, 183-188 

101 Register of persons to whom work is given 38-39 

102 Goods unlawfully manufactured to be labeled. 

Amended by Chapter 275 of 1906 39, 188-189 

103 Powers and duties of Board of Health relative to 

tenement-made articles 39-40 

104 Inspection of articles manufactured in other cities. . 40 

105 Owners of tenements and dwelling-houses not to 

permit the unlawful use thereof 40-41 

106 Copies of articles to be posted. Repealed by Chap- 

ter 505 of 1907 41, 189-190 

ARTICLE VIII. 

BAKERIES AND CONFECTIONERY ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Section 110 Hours of labor in 42 

111 Drainage and plumbing of bakeries. Amended by 

Chapter 401 of 1906 and by Chapter 418 of 1907. 42*, 190-192 

112 Requirements of, etc 43 

113 Wash-rooms and closets; sleeping places 43 

114 Inspection of bakeries and confectioneries. Amend- 

ed by Chapter 401 of 1906 ... . 43-44, 192-193 

115 Notice requiring alterations 44 

ARTICLE IX. 

MINES AND THEIR INSPECTION. 

Section 120 Duties of Commissioner of Labor. Amended by 

Chapter 399 of 1907 45-46, 193-194 

121 Outlets of Mines. Amended by Chapter 399 of 

1907 46,194 

122 Ventilation and timbering of mines. Amended by 

Chapter 399 of 1907 46, 195 

123 Riding on loaded cars ; storage of inflammable sup- 

plies. Amended by Chapter 399 of 1907 46-47, 195 

124 Inspection of steam boilers and apparatus ; steam, 

air and water gauges. Amended by Chapter 399 

of 1907 47, 195 

125 Use of Explosives ; Blasting. Amended by Chapter 

399 of 1907 47-48, 196 

126 Report of Accidents. Amended by Chapter 399 of 

1907 48, 197 



CONTENTS. 



Section 127 



128 



129 

130 
131 

132 

133 
134 
135 
136 



PAGE 

Notice of Dangerous Condition. Amended by 

Chapter 399 of 1907 48, 197 

Enforcement of Article. Amended by Chapter 399 of 

1907 48, 197 

Admission of Inspectors to Mines and Tunnels. 

Amended by Chapter 399 of 1907 48, 197-198 

Travelling Ways. Added by Chapter 375 of 1906. . 198 

Notice of opening new mines, shaft or quarry. 

Added by Chapter 375 of 1906 198 

Notice of Abandonment. Added by Chapter 375 of 

1906 199 

Employment of Women and Children. Added by 

Chapter 375 of 1906 199 

Underground working to be equipped with head, 

house and doors. Added by Chapter 399 of 1907. 199 

Mines and tunnels to be equipped with wash-rooms. 

Added by Chapter 399 of 1907 200 

Method of exploding blast. Added by Chapter 399 

of 1907 200 



ARTICLE X. 



BUREAU OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION. 



Section 140 Chief mediator 

141 Mediation and investigation 

142 Board of mediation and arbitration , 

143 Arbitration by the board 

144 Decisions of board . 

145 Annual report 

146 Submission of controversies to local arbitrators . 

147 Consent ; oath ; powers of arbitrators 



148 Decision of arbitrators. 



49 

200 
201 
201 
201 
202 
202 
203 
203 
203 



ARTICLE XL 

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Section 160 Application of article 50, 51 

161 Hours of labor of minors. Amended by Chapter 490 

of 1906 50-51, 204-205 

162 Employment of children. Amended by Chapter 490 

of 1906 51, 205 

163 Employment certificate ; how issued. Amended by 

Chapter 518 of 1905 and Chapter 291 of 1907 .... 
51-52, 205-212 

164 Contents of Certificate 52 

165 School record, what to contain. Amended by 

Chapter 291 of 1907 53, 212-213 

166 Summer vacation certificate 53-54 

167 Registry of children employed. Amended by 

Chapter 493 of 1905 „ 54, 213-214 



CONTENTS. Xi 

PAGE 

Section 168 Wash-rooms and water-closets * . 54 

169 Lunch-rooms 55 

170 Seats for women in mercantile establishments and 

other places , 55 

171 Employment of women and children in basements. . 55-56 

172 Enforcement of article 56 

173 Copy of article to be posted 56 

ARTICLE XII. 

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 

Section 174 Prohibited employment of. Amended by Chapter 

519 of 1905 and Chapter 588 of 1907 57, 214-215-217 

175 Permit and badge for newsboys ; how issued. 

Amended by Chapter 588 of 1907 57-58, 217 

176 Contents of permit and badge. Amended by Chap- 

ter 588 of 1907 58, 218 

177 Regulations concerning badge and permit. Amended 

by Chapter 519 of 1905 and Chapter 588 of 1907. 
58, 215-218 

178 Limit of hours. Amended by Chapter 588 of 1907, 58, 219 

179 Enforcement of article. Amended by Chapter 588 

of 1907 59, 219 

179a Violation of article, how punished. Amended by 

Chapter 519 of 1905 and Chapter 588 of 1907 59, 219-220 

ARTICLE XIII. 

EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF nORSESHOERS. 

Being sections 180 to 184, both inclusive. 60-61, 220 

Repealed by Chapter 83 of 1907. 

PENAL CODE. 

Section 168 Conspiracy defined 62, 220 

See Green v. Da vies 

People ex rel. Burnham v. Flynn 

170 Orderly and peaceably assemble, etc. ,not a conspiracy 62 

See Jacobs v. Cohen 

People v. Marcus 

171 "A " Coercion of employers 62 

See People v. Marcus 

171 " B " Members of National Guard 62 

171 " C " National Guard. 63 

259 The Sabbath 63 

See Brighton Athletic Club v. McAdoo 

360 The Sabbath breaking 63 

See last case 

263 Servile labor 63 

See People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman 

" 48 Misc. 643 



xii CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Section 264 Observing another day as Sabbath 64 

See People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman 

265 Public sports 64 

See Brighton Athletic Club v. McAdoo 

" 48 Misc. 643 

266 Trades, manufactures and mechanical employments 64 

267 Public traffic 64 

See People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman 

268 Serving process on Sunday prohibited 65 

269 Sabbath-breaking 65 

See People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman 

270 Forfeiture , 65 

See last case 

276 Parades 65 

384b Unlawful dealing in convict-made goods 66 

384f Failure to furnish statistics 66 

Repealed by Chap. 506 of 1907 220 

384g Refusal to admit inspectors to mines, etc 66 

Amended by Chap. 521 of 1906 221 

384h Hours of labor to be required 67 

Amended by Chap. 506 of 1907 221 

384h Sub. 4, amended by Chap. 523 of 1907 221-222 

384i Payment of wages 67, 222 

384j Seats for female employees 68 

384k No fees for services by free Employment Bureaus . . 68 

3841 Violation of Labor Law 68, 222 

Amended by Chap. 506 of 1907 

384m Illegal Practice of Horseshoeing 69 

Section 384m of the Penal Code and Sections 180- 

184 of Chap. 415 of 1897, held invalid and not a 

proper exercise of the police power. People v. 

Beattie, 96 App. Div. 383 ; People ex rel. Appel 

v. Zimmerman, 102 App. Div. 106. (See sections 

180-184 of the Labor Law, both inclusive) 

384r Corrupt Influence, Agents, Employees or Servants. 

Added by Chap. 136 of 1905 224 

447a Negligently furnishing insecure scaffolding 69 

447c Neglect to complete or plank floors of buildings 224 

constructed in cities 69 

447f Bribery of Labor representatives 70 

673 Endangering life by refusal to labor 70 

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE. 

3414 Preference over Contractors 71 

LAWS OF 1898, Chap. 671. 

To prevent fraud in Labor Organizations 71 

LAWS OF 1901, Chap. 9. 

To create a department of labor and office of commissioner 

of labor 72 

Repealed by Chap. 505 of 1907. 



CONTENTS. Xiii 

PAGE 

DUTIES AND POWERS OF COMMISSIONERS OF LABOR. 

See Labor Law 47 

LAWS OF 1902, Chap. 39. 

Public Holiday ; Half Holiday 79 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 

Chap. 600 of 1902 80-83 

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL LAW. 

LAWS OF 1894, Chap. 556, Title 16, section 5. 

Amended by Chap. 459 of 1903, section 4 83-85, 225-226 

Title 16, sections 5, 7, 9, 10, amended by Chap. 280 of 1905 
Title 16, sections 3, 4, 5, amended by Chap. 585 of 1907. 
Section 4 added. 
BARBERS, LICENSING OF, ETC. 

Laws of 1903, Chap. 632 ... 85-90 

Repealed by Chap. 256 of 1906. 
BARBERING ON SUNDAY. 

Laws of 1895, Chap. 823 90, 226-227 

Section 1 amended, regulating in Saratoga by Chap. 297 of 
1907. 
LENDERS OF MONEY ON SALARIES OF EMPLOYEES TO 
FILE COPY OF AGREEMENT OR ASSIGNMENT 

WITH EMPLOYER 91 

Laws of 1904, Chap. 77. Construed Thompson v. Inter- 
borough R. T. Co., 49 Misc. 102, 103, that its principal 
purpose appears to have been that prompt notice should 
be given to the employer of the assignment of wages. 
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 

Laws of 1904, Chap. 432 92-97, 227-244 

Repealed except as to Chap. 415 of 1897, etc., by Chap. 327 

of 1906 and Chap. 328 of 1906, 
And amended as to cities of the first class by Chap. 327 of 
1906 and as to cities of the second class by Chap. 328 of 
1906. See 183 N. Y. 225. 
THE RAILROAD LAW. 

Laws of 1890, Chap. 565. Section 42, Persons employed as 

drivers and conductors 

Section 42a, Added by Chap. 657 of 1906 244-247 

Section 43, Conductors and Employees to wear Badges. . . . 
Section 58, When Conductors and Brakeman may be Police- 
men 

Amended by Chap. 380 of 1906 

DOMESTIC RELATION LAW. 
Laws of 1896, Chap. 272. 
Section 42, Payment of wages to minor, when valid. 

Article IV 247 

INSPECTORS OF STEAM VESSELS, ASSIGNMENT OF, 
LABOR, DEPARTMENT OF. 
Laws of 1897, Chap. 592. 
Amended by Chap. 520 of 1907 248 



x j v CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LAW IN RELATION TO CITIES. 

Laws of 1900, Chap. 327. 

Plumbing and drainage. Article III. 249-257 

Sections 40 to 57 amended by Chap. 168 of 1902 as to 

Employees, etc., operating garbage crematories 

General Laws. 
WHEN LAW TO TAKE EFFECT, Chap. 8, Article 2, 23. 
GENERALLAWS XXV 

General Laws, Chap. I. 
THE STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION LAW. 

Chap. 677 of 1892. 

Section 31 XXV 

Section 32 as amended by Chap. 448 of 1894. 
THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONS LAW. 

Chap. 429 of 1907. Became a Law June 16, 1907, to take 

effect July 1, 1907. 257-321 



PART II. DECISIONS. 
LABOR DECISIONS SUMMARIZED. 

Revised and Continued to December 1907. 

GENERAL— 

Labor organizations — rights of workingmen, prin- 
ciples of law, Labor Unions, 
Constitutional Law, Law of Negligence, 
Obvious risk, Acts of Superintendents, 
Master and Servant, Public Policy, etc. 

DECISIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 67-93 101-104, 325-344 

LABOR LAW— 

Section 2 (Decisions 94 345 

8( " 5-17-95 .... 104-110,345-347 

7( " 

8( " 18-20 110-111 

14 ( " 21 111-112 

15, 16 ( " 96 , 347 

18 ( " 22-37-97-103 112-120, 348-352 

19 ( " 101 351 

20 ( " 104 353-354-427 

70 ( " 38-39-105-174 120-122 

71 ( " 

72 ( * 

77 ( " 106-107-108-109-110-111-112 354-360 

78( " : 

79 ( " 40-108 122 

81 ( « 41-45-109-120 . . 122-125, 360-367 



CONTENTS. 



XV 



Section 93 (Decisions 
110 ( 
122 ( 

125 ( 

160 ( 

161 ( 

162 ( 
180-4 ( 

PENAL CODE- 



46-121 125, 367-383 

47- 125 

122 383-385 



48- 126 

49- 126-127 



Sections 168-170-171 (Decision 50-67-123-124 127-128, 385-387 

171a( " 125 387-389 

259, 260, 265 ( " 126 389-390 

263, 264, 267, 269, 270 (Decision 127-128 390-391 

277 (Decision 128 390-391 

384h( " 51- 128-129,396 

3841 ( " 106 354 

384m ( " 52-125 129-387 

CHAPTER 459, LAWS of 1903, Section 4. (Decision 53 129 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. (Ch. 600, L. 1902). Decisions 

54-66, 129-154-155. 156, 157, 158 129-136, 392-428 

LAWS of 1904, Chapter 77, (Decision, see page ) 

EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 

LAWS of 1904, Chapter 432 and of 1906, Chap. 327 and 328 (De- 
cision 180) 433-434 

PLUMBING and DRAINAGE. 

LAWS of 1900. Chapter 327 and 1902 Ch. 168. (Decisions 176- 

177, 178, 179) 429^30 

UNITED STATES EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY LAW (Decision 181). 
435-437 



TABLE OF CASES. 

"SUMMARIZED." 



DECISIONS PAGE 

Arcade v. N. Y. Const. & Trucking Co., 116 App. Div.793. . . . 141 402 

Altman v. Schwab Manf. Co., 54 Misc. 243 153 411 

Akeu v. Barnett Aufs. Co., 118 App. Div. 463 144 405 

Arras v. Standard Plaster Co., 121 App. Div. 61 159 416 

Bellegarde v. Union Bag & Paper Co., 90 App. Div. 577 64 135 

Affd. 181 K Y. 519. . . . 
Cited 116 App. Div. 324. 

Baldwin v. Schen. Railway Co., 118 App. Div. 441 93 344 

Barry v. Derby Desk Co., 121 App. Div. 810 169 423 

Brooks v, Southern Pacific Co 181 435 

Burns v. Old Sterling I. & M. Co., 188 K Y. 175 109 357 

105. App. Div. 627 reversed. . 

Bartolami v. United Eng. & Cont, Co., 120 App. Div. 192 136 396 

Beattie v. Callanan, 82 App. Div. 7. . . 68 327 

Brighton Athletic Club 7. McAdoo, 47 Misc. 432-434 126 389 

Chaffee v. Union Dry Dock Co., 68 App. Div. 578 33 118 

Explained 106 App. Div. 41 . 

City of N. Y. v. Chelsea Jute Mills, 43 Misc. 266 53 129 

Cochran v. As. Baker Co., 30 Misc. 48 20 111 

Conley v. Lackawanna I. & S. Co., 94 App. Div. 149 27 114 

Affd. 183 N. Y. 551. 

Corregan v. Hay, 94 App. Div. 71 3 103 

Cossey v. Grout, 179 N. Y. 417 95 345 

Revg. 96 App. Div. 607. 

Curren v. Galen, 152 N, Y. 33 2 103 

152N.Y,33 72 329 

Dist. 170 N, Y. 334. 

Cited 175 K Y. 36; 183 K Y. 210; 185 
N. Y. 263. 

Choyce v. Hopper, 120 App. Div. 177 100 350 

Collins v. Butler, 179 N. Y. 156 84 337 

Reversing 83 App. Div, 12. 

Chisholm as Admr. v. Manhattan R. Co., 116 App. Div. 320. . . 135 394 

Curren v. Manhattan R. Co. , 118 App. Div. 347 138 397 

Date v. K Y. Glucose Co., 114 App. Div. 789 173 427 

190 N. Y. Mem. 
xvii 



xviii TABLE OF CASES. 

DECISIONS PAGE 

Davis v. Broadalbin Knitting Co. , 90 App. Div. 567 65 136 

Affd. 185 N. Y. 613. 

Dolge v. Dolge, 70 App. Div. 517 18 110 

Downey v. Bender, 57 App. Div. 310 14 108 

Dillon v. Nat. Coal Tar Co. , 181 K Y. 215 ' . . Ill 358 

Reversing 88 App. Div. 614. 

Damjanovic v. Herring, H. & M. Safe Co., 119 App. Div. 12.. . 142 402 

Fansani v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 109 App. Div. 404 168 422 

190 N. Y. Mem. 

Foster v. Int. Paper Co., 183 N. Y. 45 120 366 

Revg. 94 App. Div. 612. 

France v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 118 App. Div. 550 133 394 

Fiebiger v. Forbes, 43 Misc. 612 4 104 

Foster v. Int. Paper Co. , 71 App. Div. 47 45 124 

Explained 99 App. Div. 51. 

Cited 110 App. Div. 20. 

183 N. Y. 45. 

Reversing 94 App. Div. 612. 
Freemont v. B. & M. R, R. Co., Ill App. Div. 831. 

Affd. without opinion, 187 N. Y. 571. 149 409 

Gallenkamp v. Garvin Machine Co., 91 App. Div. 141 43 123 

Reversed 179 K Y. 588. 

Gmaehle v. Rosenberg, 178 K Y. 147 54 129 

Dist. 180 N. Y. 512. 

Cited 186 K Y. 52. 

Gozzett v. Plant, 121 App. Div. 513 164 419 

Glassman v. Surpless, 53 Misc. 589 108 356 

Gray v. Hall, 32 Misc. 683 17 109 

Graham v. Van Hauten, 53 Misc. 643 91 343 

Green v. Davies, 100 App. Div. 359 124 387 

Guilmartin v. Solvay Process Co., 180 N. Y. 490 156 413 

Harvey v. McConchie, 77 App. Div. 361 , 23 113 

Affd. 177 K Y. 569. 

Healey v. Burke, 35 Misc. 384 36 119 

Hoehn v. Lautz, 94 App. Div. 14 63 135 

Horst v. Walter, 53 Misc. 594 90 343 

Howard v. Ill, Central R. R 

U. S. Employers' Liability Law declared unconstitutional.. 181 435 

Hashagen v. Schaefer et al., 54 Misc. 236 104 353 

Haggblad v. Bklyn. H. R. R. Co., 117 App. Div. 838 102 351 

Hunt v. Dexter Sulphite P. & P. Co., 100 App. Div. 119 140 401 

Affd. without opinion, 
183 N. Y. 544. 

Hall v. N. Y. N. H. & H. R. R. Co., 121 App. Div. 488 165 420 

Harris v. Baltimore M. & El. Co., 188 N. Y. 141 137 396 

Heffron v. Lackawanna Steel Co., 121 App. Div. 35 158 415 



TABLE OF CASES. x i x 

DECISIONS PAGE 

Howard v. Ill Central R. R 

Brooks v; Southern Pacific Co. 

U. S. Employers, Liability law declared unconstitutional . . 181 435 

Hallen v. Thompson et al., 48 Misc. 642-643 128 390 

Harris v. Baltimore M. & E. Co., 112 App. Div. 389 149 409 

Affd 188 K Y. 141. 



Jenks v. Thompson, 179 N. Y. 20 22 112 

Johnson v. Roach, 83 App. Div. 351 30 116 

83 App. Div. 351 66 136 

Johnson v. Onondaga Paper Co., 112 App. Div. 667 94 345 

Johnson v. Fargo, 184 N. Y. 379 76 330 

Affirming 98 App. Div. 436. 

Jacobs v. Cohen, 183 K Y. 207, rev. 99 A. D. 481 67 325 

183 N. Y. 207 73 329 

183 N. Y. 207 74 329 

Klein v. Garvey, 94 App. Div. 183 41 122 

Kuowles v. City of N. Y. 176 K Y. 430 61 06 

Kuss v. Freid, 32 Misc. 628 37 120 

Kelly v. D. L. & W. R. R. Co., 118 App. Div. 432 92 343 

Kenyon v. Sanford Mfg. Co., 119 App. Div. 570 105 353 

Koehler v. N. Y. Steam Co., 183 K Y. 1 82 333 

Reversing 93 App. Div. 612. 

Klep v. Bristol Mfg. Co., 107 App. Div. 488 129 892 

Affd. 189 N. Y. mem. 20. 

King v. Ford, 121 App. Div. 404 163 419 

Kellogg v. N. Y. Edison Co., 120 App. Div. 410 145 406 

Lowry v. Anderson Co., 96 App. Div. 465 48 126 

Lowery v. Huntington L. & P. Co., 121 App. Div. 246 175 428 

Lochner v. State of N. Y. 198 U. S. 145 121 367 

Cited 189 N. Y. 131-137. 

Loughlin v. Brassil, 187 N. Y. 128 110 357 

Reversing 102 App. Div. 607. 

Lynch as Pres. , etc., Taylor as Pres., etc. v. J. S. P. Co., 115. 96 347 
App. Div. 911. . 

Marino v. Lehmaier, 173 N. Y. 530. , 38 120 

Cited 179 N. Y. 20; 115 App. Div. 590, 591. 

Matter of Luxton & Black Co , 35 App. Div. 243 19 110 

McAvoy v. City of N. Y. 52 App. Div. 485 9 107 

Affd. 166 N. Y. 588. 

McCann v. City of X. Y. 52 App. Div. 358 10 107 

Affd. 166 N. Y. 587. 

McCarthy v. Emerson. 77 App. Div. 562 32 117 

McCarthy v. Norcross Bros. Co., 121 App. Div. 775 ... 167 422 

Morrisey v. Dwyer, 121 App. Div. 247 157 414 



XX TABLE OF CASES. 

DECISIONS PAOE 

McNulty v. City of N. Y. 60 App. Div. 250 8 107 

Affd. 168 K Y. 117. 

Meehan v. Atlas Safe Moving Co. 94 App. Div. 306 61 134 

Dist. 102 App. Div. 509. 

Mull v. Curtice Bros. Co., 74 App. Div. 561 44 124 

Myers v. City of K Y., 58 App. Div. 534 , 13 108 

McDonald v. Triest, 119 App. Div. 75 79 333 

Makin v. Pettebone Cataract Paper Co., Ill App. Div. 726 117 363 

Affd. without opinion 188 K Y. 559. 
Dist'g. 47 App. Div. 136; 175 N. Y. 401. 

McBride v. N. Y. Tunnel Co., 113 App. Div. 821. 151 410 

Affd. without opinion 187 K Y. 573. 

Muratore v. Pirkl, 109 App. Div. 146 134 394 

McHugh v. Manhattan Ry. Co. , 179 N. Y. 378 143 403 

Reversing 88 App. Div. 554. 

McConnell v. Morse I. W. & D. D. Co., 187 K Y. 341 139 399 

Rev. 102 App Div. 324: 110 App. Div. 920. 

McCarthy v. Penn R. R. Co. . 189 N. Y. 170 130 392 

Reversing 115 App. Div. 915. 
Mikos as Admr. v. K Y. C. & H. R. R. Co., 118 App. Div. 536. 132 393 

Citing 179 N". Y. 378. 

Meehan v. Hogan, 54 Misc. 241 152 410 

Michael v. Concrete Steel Co., 55 Misc. 255 103 352 

Madden v. Hughes, 185 K Y. 466. Affg. 104 A. D. 101 97 348 

McCoy v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 185 K Y. 276 86 339 

Milbaur v. Richard et ■ al. , 188 K Y. 453 78 332 

Reversing 113 A. D. 905. 

Nat. Assn. Steam Fitters v. Cumming, 170 N. Y. 315 1 101 

Cited 175 N. Y. 14-18;. 70 328 
s < " " " " 183 N. Y. 211 ; 185 72 329 

N. Y. 262 ; 82 A. D. 7 ; 
110A.D.259 ; 114 A. D. 
582. 

Neuweiler v. Cena. Brewing Co., 119 App. Div. 101 114 361 

Neagle v. Syracuse B. & K Y. R. R. Co,, 185 K Y. 270 85 338 

Rev. 109 A. D. 339. 

Onesti v. Central K E. R. Co., 121 App. Div. 554 .172 426 

Owen v. Retsoff Mfg. Co., 102 App. Div. 130 80 334 

Orendorf v. K. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 119 App. Div. 638. ... 81 334 

O'Brien v. Buffalo Furnace Co., 183 K Y. 317 122 3S3 

Reversing 94 A. D. 609. 

Ortolano v. Degnon Cont. Co., 120 App. Div. 59 146 406 

People v. Beattie, 96 App. Div. 383 49 126 

96 App. Div 383 52 129 

Cited 102 A. D. 106. 

People v. Beattie, 96 App. Div. 383 52 129 

People ex rel. Dumary v. Van Alstyne, 53 App Div. 1 15 109 



TABLE OF CASES. XXI 

DECISIONS PAGE 

People ex rel Lentilhon v. Coler, 61 App. Div. 223 15 109 

Appeal dismissed ; 1C8 X. Y. 
6. 

People ex rel. Rogers v. Coler, 166 X. Y. 1 12 107 

Cited 166 N. Y. 149 ; 168 N. Y. 
8-88-251 ; 172 N. Y. 125 : 176 
X. Y. 489 ; 177 X. Y. 156-179- 
278-281-292 ; 179 1ST. Y. 421 ; 112 
A. D. 607. 

People ex rel. Sweeney v. Sturgis, 78 App. Div. 460 7 106 

Affd. 175 N. Y. 410. 
Cited 96 A. D. 229. 

People ex rel. Treat v. Coler, 166 X. Y. 144 21 111 

Cited 177 N. Y. 281 ; 179 X. Y. 
429. 

People ex rel. Usoy v. Waring, 52 App. Div. 36 16 109 

People v. Lochner, 177 N. Y. 145 46 125 

(Reversed 198 U. S. 45.) 

(See Loehner v. Stale of X. Y.) 

People v. McFarlin, 43 Misc. 59 50 127 

People v. Orange Co. Road Const. Co. , 175 X. Y. 84 51 128 

Poole v. American Linseed Oil Co., 119 App. Div. 136 118 364 

People v. Marcus, 185 N. Y. 257 125 887 

185 N. Y.257 75 829 

Affg. 110 App. Div. 255. 

People ex rel. Armstrong v. Warden, etc., 183 X. Y. 223 180 488 

Aii'g. 107 A. 1). 617. 

People v. Klaw & Erlanger, 55 Misc. 72, June 1907 128 385 

People ex rel. Burnham v. Flynn, 114 App. Div. 578 69 328 

People v. Kostka. 4 N. Y. Crim. 429. 

Parks & Son Co. v. Nat. Ding Assn. 175 X. Y. 21 71 328 

People ex rel Van Deren v. Moore, 78 App. Div. 28 176 429 

People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman, 48 Misc. 203-204 127 890 

People v. Williams, 51 Misc. 383 106 354 

Affd. 116 A. D. 379 ; 189 X. Y. 131 107 354 

People ex rel. Cossey v. Grout, 179 X. Y. 417 95 345 

Rcvg. 96 A. D. 607. 

Pearsall v. X. Y. C. & II. R. R. R. Co., 189 X. Y. 474 166 420 

People ex rel. Xehameus v. Warden, 144 X. Y. 529 178 480 

Pursie}' v. Edgemoore Bridgo Works, 56 App. Div. 71 85 119 

Rager v. I). L. & W. R. R. Co.. 64 App. Div. 135 34 118 

Randall v. Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Co., 95 App. Div. 886 59 138 

Rice v. Eureka Paper Co., 174 X. Y. 385 56 181 

Robinson v. Brown, 166 X. Y. 159 11 107 

Rockstrow v. Astoria Marble Co., 121 App. Div. 144 162 418 

Rotondo v. Smyth, 92 App. Div. 153 29 116 

Ryan v. City of X. Y. 177 X. Y. 271 5 104 

Cited 179 X. Y. 424 ; 182 X. Y. 23. 



xxii TABLE OF CASES. 

DECISIONS PAGE 

Russell v. Lehigh Valley Co., 188 N. Y. 344 112 359 

Distg. 173 N. Y. 7. 
Citing 105 N. Y. 159 ; 157 N. Y. 
251 ; 163 N. Y. 472. 

Rende v. N. Y. & Texas Steamship Co., 187 N. Y. 382 87 34a 

Revg. 112 A. D. 922. 

Riley v. Troy Brick Co., 184 N. Y. 399 89 342 

Revg. 108 App. Div. 108. 

Schermerhom v. Glens Falls Cement Co., 94 App. Div. 600 60 133 

Cited 107 A. D. 297. 

Schmidt v. Bruen, 56 Misc. 130 174 42T 

Sienbida v. Tonawanda B. & P. Co., 121 App. Div. 70 160 417 

Sutherland v. Ammann, 112 App. Div. 332 . . 170 424 

190 N. Y. Mem. 

Simone v. Kirk, 173 N. Y. 13 57 131 

Sitts v. Waiontha Knitting Co., 94 App. Div. 38 39 121 

110 A. D. 503 ; 113 A. D. 649. 

Sitts v. Waiontha Knitting Co. . 94 App. Div. 38 42 123 

Stewart v. Ferguson, 164 N. Y. 553 24 113 

Cited 173 N. Y. 536 ; 179 N. Y. 26 ; 181 
N. Y, 128. 

Stenger v, Buffalo Union Furnace Co,, 186 N. Y, 323 83 336 

Schapp v. Bloomer, 181 N. Y. 125 101 351 

Revg. 90 A. D. 612. 

Sharp v. Erie R. R. Co., 184 K Y. 100 , 77 331 

Revg 90 A. D. 502. 

Schnaier v. Navarre Hotel & Import. Co., 182 N. Y. 83 177 429 

182 N. Y. 83 179 430 

Revg. 82 A. D. 25. 

Sexton v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 114 App. Div. 678. 131 39a 

Affd. by Court of Ap- 
peals, June 14, 1907, 189 
N. Y. mem. 22-23, on 
authority of 151 K Y. 
411 ; 156 K Y. 75. 

Tetherton v. U. S. Talc. Co., 41 App. Div. 613 47 125 

Affd. without opinion. 165 N. Y. 
665. 

Tierney v. Vunck, 97 App. Div. 1 25 113 

Cited 98 A. D. 25 ; 104 A. D. 104. 

Travis v. Haan, 119 App. Div. 138 113 360 

Thayer v. Utica Knitting Co. , 183 N. Y. 10 119 36& 

Revg. 98 A. D. 633. 

Vogel v. Am. Bridge Co., 180 N. Y. 373., 115 361 

88 A. D. 68. 



TABLE OF CASES. xx iii 

DECISIONS PAOK 

Walters v. Fuller Co., 82 App. Div. 254 31 116 

Cited 97 A. D 3. 

Ward v. Manhattan R'y Co. , 95 App. Div. 437 58 132 

104 A. D. 162. 

Welle v. Celluloid Co., 175 N. Y. 401 55 130 

176 N. Y. 560 ; 179 N. Y. 202 ; 107 
A. D. 297 ; 111 A. D. 728. 

Williams v. Robliu & Hotchkin, 94 App. Div. 177 26 114 

94 App. Div. 177 62 135 

Wingert v. Kraukauer, 92 App. Div, 223 28 115 

Cited 104 A. D. 104. 

Williams v. First Nat. Bank, 118 App. Div. 555 98 348 

118 App. Div. 555 99 349 

Citing- 181 N. Y. 125. 
Williams v. People. (See People v. Williams.) 

Welle v. Celluloid Co., 186 N. Y. 319 88 841 

Citing 163 N. Y. 527 ; 181 N. Y. 33 ; 
118 N. Y. 428. 

Wazenski v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 180 N. Y. 466 116 863 

Wood v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 184 N. Y. 290 148 408 

Revg. 100 A. D. 511. 

Willis v. Thompson Starrett Co,, 54 Misc. 238 154 412 

Wilcox v. City of Rochester, 190 N. Y. 137 155 412 

Wolfinger v. Bklyu. Height R. R. Co., 121 App. Div. 140 161 418 

Wood v. Burke & Son, 121 App. Div. 542. . . 171 426 

Young v. Dietzgen, 72 App. Div. 618 40 122 

CASES CITED. 

Benedict v. Jennings, 47 Misc. 136. 

Capasso v. Woolfolk, 163 N. Y. 472. 

Distefeno v. Peekskill Lighting & R. R. Co., 107 App. Div. 297. 
Dodge v. Cornelius, 168 N. Y. 251. 
Dougherty v. Milliken, 163 N. Y. 527. 

Grady v. City of N. Y., 105 N. Y. 159. 

Harney v. Harney, 110 App. Div. 20. 

Haefelin v. McDonald, 96 App. Div. 229. 

Holm v. Empire Hardware Co., 102 App. Div. 509. 

Lee v. Sterling Silk Co., 115 App. Div. 590-591. 
Loughlin v. City of N. Y. 105 N. Y. 159. 

Matter of Chapman v. City of N. Y. 168 N. Y. 88. 

People ex rel. Ajas v. Board of Education, 104 App. Div. 162. 
People ex rel. North v. Featherstonhaugh, 172 N. Y. 125 



xxiv TABLE OF CASES. 

People ex rel, Single Paper Co. v. Edgcomb, 112 App. Div. 607. 

Perry v. Rogers, 157 N: Y. 251. 

People v. Tobin, 177 K Y. 281. 

Schultz v. Union Railway Co., 181 JN. Y. 33. 

Van Wycklin v. City of Brooklyn, 118 N. Y. 428. 

Walker v. Newton Falls Paper Co., 99 App. Div. 51. 

Warren v. Parkhurst, 180 N. Y. 52. 

White v. Collins Building & Const. Co., 82 App. Div. 7. 

Wallingford v. Kaiser. 110 App. Div. 503. 

vVelk v. Jackson Architectural Works, 98 App. Div. 25. 

Worth v. Liebovitz, 179 N. Y. 202. 

Zeccardi v. Yonkers R. R. Co., 113 App. Div. 649. 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

OF THE 

STATE OF NEW YORK. 



COMPRISING THE LAWS ENACTED, AMENDED AND REPEALED 
AND A SUMMARY OF AND REFERENCE TO THE MOST 
IMPORTANT DECISIONS OF THE COURTS CONS- 
TRUING, AFFECTING OR RELATING THERETO, 
AND TO THE VARIOUS QUESTIONS ARIS- 
ING THEREUNDER AND BEING 

PARTS I and II of ' ' LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS." Revised and 
continued to December 1907. 

(Every law, unless a different time shall be prescribed therein, shall not 
take effect until the twentieth day after it shall have become a law. 
Section 43, Article II, Chapter 8, General Laws.) 

THE STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION LAW. 

Chap. 677 of 1892. 

Chap. I of The General Laws. 

Section 31. Limiting the Effect of Repealing Statutes. — The re- 
peal hereafter or by this chapter of any provision of a statute, which repeals 
any provision of a prior statute, does not revive such prior provision. The 
repeal hereafter or by this chapter of any provision of a statute, which 
amends a provision of a prior statute, leaves such prior provision in foree 
unless the amendatory statute be a substantial re-enactment of the statute 
amended. The repeal of a statute or part thereof shall not effect or impair 
any act done or right accruing, accrued or acquired, or liability, penalty, 
forfeiture or punishment prior to the time such repeal takes effect, but the 
same may be asserted, enforced, prosecuted or inflicted, as fully and to the 
same extent as if such repeal had not been effected; and all actions and 
proceedings, civil or criminal, commenced under or by virtue of any pro- 
vision of a statute so repealed, and pending immediately prior to the taking 
effect of such repeal, may be prosecuted and defended to final effect in the 
same manner as they might if such provisions were not so repealed. 

Section 32. Effect of Repeal and Re-enactment.— The provisions 
of a law repealing a prior law, which are substantial re-enactments of 
provisions of the prior law, shall be construed as a continuation of such 
provisions of such prior law, and not as new enactments. If any provision 
of a law be repealed and, in substance, re-enacted, a reference in any law 
to such repealed provision shall be deemed a reference to such re-enacted 
provision. 

As amended by Chap. 448 of 1894. 

XXV. 



THE "LABOR LAW' : 



OF THE 



STATE OF NEW YORK. 



LAWS OF 1897, CHAPTER 415, IN EFFECT JUNE 1st, 1897. 
AN ACT IN RELATION TO LABOR CONSTITUTING CHAPTER 
XXXII OF THE GENERAL LAWS (AS AMENDED TO AND 
INCLUDING 1907). 



ARTICLE 


I. 


ARTICLE 


II. 


ARTICLE 


III. 


ARTICLE 


IV. 


ARTICLE 


V. 


ARTICLE 


VI. 


ARTICLE 


VII. 


ARTICLE VIII. 


ARTICLE 


IX. 


ARTICLE 


X. 


ARTICLE 


XI. 


ARTICLE 


XII. 


ARTICLE XIII. 



General Provisions (Sections 1-21). 

Department of Labor (Sections 30-38). 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (Sections 40-42). 

Convict-Made Goods (Sections 50-55). 

Bureau of Factory Inspection (Sections 60-68). 

Factories (Sections 70-95). 

Tenement-Made Articles (Sections 100-106). 

Bakeries and Confectionary Establishments (Sec- 
tions 110-115). 

Mines and their Inspection (Sections 120-136). 

Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration (Sections 
140-148). 

Employment of Women and Children in Mer- 
cantile Establishments (Sections 160-173). 

Employment of Children in Street Trades (Sec- 
tions 174-179a). 

Examination and Registration of Horseshoers 
(Sections 180-184) repealed by Chapter 83 of 1907. 
1 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



ARTICLE I. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Bection 1. Short title. 

2. Definitions. 

3. Hours to constitute a day's labor. 

4. Violations of the Labor Law. 

5. Hours of labor on street surface and elevated railroads. 

6. Hours of labor in brick yards. 

7. Regulation of hours of labor on steam surface and elevated 

railroads. 
7a. Added by Chapter 627 of 1907. Regulation of hours of labor 
of block system telegraph and telephone operators and signals 
men on surface, subway and elevated railroads. 

8. Payment of wages by receivers. 

9. Cash payment of wages. 

10. When wages are to be paid. 

11. Penalty for violation of preceding sections. 

12. Assignment of future wages. 

13. Preference in employment of persons upon public works. 

14. Stone used in state or municipal works. 

15. Labels, brands, etc., used by labor organizations. 

16. Illegal use of labels, et cetera, a misdemeanor; injunction 

proceedings. 

17. Seats for female employees. 

18. Scaffolding for use of employees. 

19. Inspection of scaffolding, ropes, blocks, pulleys and tackles 

in cities. 

20. Protection of persons employed on buildings in cities. 

21. Commissioner of labor to enforce provisions of this article. 

Short Title.— 

Section 1. This chapter shall be known as the Labor 
Law. 

Definitions.— 

Sec. 2. The term employee, when used in this chapter, 
means a mechanic, workingman or laborer who works 
for another for hire. 

The person employing any such mechanic, working- 
man or laborer, whether the owner, proprietor, agent, 
superintendent, foreman or other subordinate, is desig- 
nated in this chapter as an employer. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 3 

The term factory, when used in this chapter, shall be 
construed to include also any mill, workshop, or other 
manufacturing' or business establishment where one or 
more persons are employed at labor. 

The term mercantile establishment, when used in this 
chapter, means any place where goods, wares or mer- 
chandise are offered for sale. 

The term tenement house, where used in this chapter, 
means any house or building or portion thereof, which is 
rented, leased, let or hired out, to be occupied, or is oc- 
cupied as the home or residence of three families or more 
living independently of each other, and doing their cook- 
ing upon the premises, and having a common right in 
the halls, stairways, yards, water-closets or privies, or 
some of them, and for the purposes of this act shall be 
construed to include any building on the same lot with 
any dwelling-house and which is used for any of the pur- 
poses specified in section one hundred of this act. 

Whenever, in this chapter, authority is conferred upon 
th^ commissioner of labor, it shall also be deemed to 
include his assistant or a deputy acting under his direc- 
tion. Amd. by 1904, chap. 550, in effect Oct. 1. 

Hours to Constitute a Day's Labor.— 

Sec. 3. Eight hours shall constitute a legal day's work 
for all classes of employees in this state except those en- 
gaged in farm and domestic service unless otherwise 
provided by law. T his section does not prevent an agree- 
ment for overwork at an increased compensation, except 
upon work by or for the state or a municipal corporation 
or by contractors or subcontractors therewith. Each 
contract to which the state or a municipal corporation is 
a party which may involve the employment of laborers, 
workmen or mechanics shall contain a stipulation that 
no laborer, workman or mechanic in the employ of the 
contractor, subcontractor or other person doing or con- 
tracting to do the whole or a part of the work contem- 
plated by the contract shall be permitted or required to 
work more than eight hours in any one calendar day ex- 
cept in cases of extraordinary emergency caused by fire, 
flood or danger to life or property. The wages to be paid 



4 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

for a legal day's work as hereinbefore defined to all classes 
of such laborers, workmen or mechanics upon all such pub- 
lic works or upon any material to be used upon or in con- 
nection therewith shall not be less than the prevailing 
rate for a day's work in the same trade or occupation in 
the locality within the state where such public work on, 
about or in connection with such labor is performed in its 
final or completed form is to be situated, erected or used. 
Each such contract hereafter made shall contain a stipu- 
lation that each such laborer, workman or mechanic, 
employed by contractor, subcontractor or other person 
on, about or upon such public work shall receive such 
wages herein provided for. Each contract for such pub- 
lic work hereafter made shall contain a provision that 
the same shall be void and of no effect unless the person 
or corporation making or performing the same shall 
comply with the provisions of this section ; and no such 
person or corporation shall be entitled to receive any 
sum nor shall any officer, agent or employee of the state 
or of a municipal corporation pay the same or authorize 
its payment from the funds under his charge or control 
to any such person or corporation for work done upon 
any contract which in its form or manner of performance 
violates the provisions of this section, but nothing in this 
section shall be construed to apply to persons in state in- 
stitutions, or to engineers, electricians and elevatormen 
in the department of public buildings during the annual 
session of the legislature. Amd. by 1900, chap. 298, in 
effect April 6. 

Violations of the Labor Law. — 

Sec. 4. Any officer agent or employee of this state or 
of a municipal corporation therein having a duty to act 
in the premises who violates, evades or knowingly per- 
mits the violation or evasion of any of the provisions of 
this act shall be guilty of malfeasance in office and shall 
be suspended or removed by the authority having power 
to appoint or remove such officer agent or employee, 
otherwise by the governor. Any citizen of this state 
may maintain proceedings for the suspension or removal 
of such officer agent or employee or may maintain an 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 5 

action for the purpose of securing the cancellation or 
avoidance of any contract which by its terms or manner 
of performance violates this act or for the purpose of pre- 
venting any officer, agent or employee of such municipal 
corporation from paying or authorizing the payment of 
any public money for work done thereupon. Amd. by 
1899, chap. 507, in effect May 12. 

Hours of Labor on Street Surface and Elevated Railroads.— 

Sec. 5. Ten consecutive hours' labor, including one- 
half-hour for dinner, shall constitute a day's labor in the 
operation of all street surface and elevated railroads, of 
whatever motive power, owned and operated by corpora- 
tions in this state, whose main line of travel or whose 
routes lie principally within the corporate limits of cities 
of more than one hundred thousand inhabitants. No 
employe of any such corporation shall be permitted or 
allowed to work more than ten consecutive hours, includ- 
ing one-half hour for dinner, in any one day of twenty- 
four hours. 

In cases of accident or unavoidable delay, extra labor 
may be performed for extra conpensation. 

Hours of Labor in Brickyards. — 

Sec. 6. Ten hours, exclusive of the necessary time for 
meals, shall constitute a legal day's work in the making 
of bricks in brickyards owned or operated by corpora- 
tions. No corporation owning or operating such brick- 
yard shall require employes to work more than ten 
hours in any one day, or to commence work before seven 
o'clock in the morning. But overwork and work prior 
to seven o'clock in the morning for extra conpensation 
may be performed by agreement between employer and 
employe. 

Regulation of Hours of Labor on Steam Surface and Elevated 
Railroads.— 

Sec. 7. Ten hours' labor, performed within ten con- 
secutive hours, shall constitute a legal day's work in the 
operation of steam surface and elevated railroads owned 
and operated within this state, except where the mileage 
system of running trains is in operation. But this section 



6 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

does not apply to the performance of extra hours of labor 
by conductors, engineers, firemen and trainmen in case 
of accident or delay resulting therefrom. For each hour 
of labor performed in any one day in excess of ten hours, 
by any such employe, he shall be paid in addition at least 
one-tenth of his daily compensation. 

No person or corporation operating a line of railroad of 
thirty miles in length or over, in whole or in part within 
this state, shall permit or require a conductor, engineer, 
fireman or trainman, who has worked in any capacity for 
twenty- four consecutive hours, to go again on duty or 
perform any kind of work, until he has had at least eight 
hours' rest. 

Payment of Wages by Receivers.— 

Sec. 8. Upon the appointment of a receiver of a partner- 
ship or of a corporation organized under the laws of this 
state and doing business therein, other than a moneyed 
corporation, the wages of the employes of such partner- 
ship or corporation shall be preferred to every other debt 
or claim. 

Cash Payment of Wages.— 

Sec. 9. Every manufacturing, mining, quarrying, 
mercantile, railroad, street railway, canal, steam boat, 
telegraph and telephone company, every express company, 
and every water company, not municipal, shall pay to 
each employe engaged in its business the wages earned 
by him in cash. No such company or corporation shall 
pay its employes in script, commonly known as store 
money orders. 

When Wages are to be paid.— 

Sec. 10. Every corporation or joint stock association, 
or person carrying on the business thereof by lease or 
otherwise, shall pay weekly to each employe the wages 
earned by him to a day not more than six days prior to 
the date of such payment. 

But every person or corporation operating a steam 
surface railroad shall, on or before the twentieth day of 
each month, pay the employes thereof the wages earned 
by them during the preceding calendar month. 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 7 

Penalty for Violation of Preceding Sections.— 

Sec. 11. If a corporation or joint stock association, its 
lessee or other person carrying on the business thereof, 
shall fail to pay the wages of an employe as provided in 
this article, it shall forfeit to the people of the state the 
sum of fifty dollars for each such failure, to be recovered 
by the [commissioner of labor] in his name of office in a 
civil action ; but an action shall not be maintained there- 
for, unless the [commissioner of labor] shall have given 
to the employer at least ten days' written notice, that 
such an action will be brought if the wages are not sooner 
paid as provided in this article. 

On the trial of such action, such corporation or associa- 
tion shall not be allowed to set up any defense, other than 
a valid assignment of such wages, a valid set-off against 
the same, or the absence of such employe from his regular 
place of labor at the time of payment, or an actual tender 
to such employe at the time of the payment of the wages 
so earned by him, or a breach of contract by such employe 
or a denial of the employment. 

Assignment of Future Wages.— 

Sec. 12. No assignment of future wages, payable 
weekly, or monthly in case of a steam surface railroad 
corporation, shall be valid if made to the corporation or 
association from which such wages are to become due, or 
to any person on its behalf, or if made or procured to be 
made to any person for the purpose of relieving such 
corporation or association from the obligation to pay 
weekly, or monthly in case of a steam surface railroad 
corporation. Charges for groceries, provisions or clothing 
shall not be a valid off-set for wages in behalf of any such 
corporation or association. 

No such corporation or association shall require any 
agreement from any employe to accept wages at other 
periods than as provided in this article as a condition of 
employment. 

Preference in Employment of Persons upon Public Works.— 

Sec. 13. In the construction of public works by the 

state or a municipality, or by persons contracting with 



8 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the state or such municipality, only citizens of the United 
States shall be employed ; and in all cases where laborers 
are employed on any such public works, preference shall 
be given citizens of the state of New York. In each 
contract for the construction of public works a provision 
shall be inserted, to the effect that if the provisions of this 
section are not complied with, the contract shall be void. 
On and after May first, nineteen hundred and two, all 
boards, officers, agents or employees of cities of the first 
class of the state, having the power to enter into contracts 
which provide for the expenditure of public money on 
public works shall file in the office of the commissioner 
of labor the names and addresses of all contractors holding 
contracts with said cities of the state. Upon the letting 
of new contracts the names and addresses of such new 
contractors shall likewise be filed. Upon the demand of 
the commissioner of labor a contractor shall furnish a 
list of the names and addresses of all subcontractors in 
his employ. Each contractor performing work for any 
city of the first class, shall keep a list of his employees, 
in which it shall set forth whether they are naturalized 
or native born citizens of the United States, together 
with, incase of naturalization, the date of naturalization 
and the name of the court where such naturalization 
was granted. Such lists and records shall be open to the 
inspection of the commissioner of labor. A violation of 
this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be 
punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more 
than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not 
less than thirty nor more than ninety days, or by both 
such fine and imprisonment. Amd. by 1902, chap. 454, 
in effect April 10. 

Stone used in the State or Municipal Works.— 

Sec. 14. All stone used in state and municipal works, 
except paving blocks and crushed stone, shall be worked, 
dressed and carved within the state. There shall be in- 
serted in each contract or specification hereinafter awarded 
by state, county or municipal authorities, authorizing or 
requiring the use of worked, dressed or carved stone, 
except paving blocks or crushed stone, within the state 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. <) 

or such county or municipality, a clause to the effect that 
such stone shall he so worked, dressed or carved within 
the boundaries of the state as required by this section. 
If a contractor of the state or any municipality therein, 
shall use stone, except paving blocks and crushed stone, 
which has been worked, dressed or carved without the 
state, the state or such municipality shall revoke the con- 
tract of such contractor and be released from liability 
thereon. 

Labels, Brands, etc., used by Labor Organizations.— 

Sec. 15. A union or association of employes may 
adopt a device in the form of a label, brand, mark, name 
or other character for the purpose of designating the 
products of the labor of the members thereof. Duplicate 
copies of such device shall be filed in the office of the 
secretary of state, who shall, under his hand and seal, 
deliver to the union or association filing or registering 
the same, a certified copy and a. certificate of the filing 
thereof, for which he shall be entitled to a fee of one 
dollar. Such certificate shall not be assignable by the 
union or association to whom it is issued. 

Illegal use of Labels, etc., a Misdemeanor; Injunction Pro- 
ceedings.— 

Sec. 16. A person who, (1) shall in any way use or 
display the label, brand, mark, name or other character, 
adopted by any such union or association as provided in 
the preceding section, without the consent or authority 
of such union or association ; or (2) shall counterfeit or 
imitate any such label, brand, mark, name or other 
character, or knowingly, sells or disposes or keeps or has 
in his possession with intent to sell or dispose of any 
goods, wares, merchandise or other products of labor, 
upon which any such counterfeit or imitation is attached, 
affixed, printed, stamped or impressed, or knowingly 
sells or disposes of, or keeps or has in his possession with 
intent to sell, or dispose of any goods, wares, merchan- 
dise or other products of labor contained in any box, 
case, can, or package, to which, or on which any such 
counterfeit or imitation is attached, affixed, printed, 
painted, stamped or impressed, is guilty of misdemeanor, 



10 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hun- 
dred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, or by 
imprisonment for not less than three months nor more 
than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 
After filing copies of such device, such union or associa- 
tion may also maintain an action to enjoin the manufac- 
ture, use, display or sale of counterfeit or colorable imi- 
tations of such device, or of goods bearing the same, or 
the unauthorized use or display of such device, or of goods 
bearing the same, and the court may restrain such 
wrongful manufacture, use, display or sale, and every 
unauthorized use or display by others of the genuine 
devices so registered and filed, if such use or display is 
not authorized by the owner thereof, and may award to 
the plaintiff such damages resulting from such wrongful 
manufacture, use, display or sale as may be proved, to- 
gether with the profits derived therefrom. Amd. by 
1904, chap. 523, in effect April 29. 

Seats for Female Employes.— 

Sec. 17. Every person employing females in a factory 
or as waitresses in a hotel or restaurant, shall provide 
and maintain suitable seats for the use of such female 
employes, and permit the use thereof by such employes 
to such an extent as may be reasonable for the preser- 
vation of their health. Amd. by 1900, chap. 533 in effect 
April 19. 
Scaffolding for the use of Employes.— 

Sec. 18. A person employing another to perform 
labor of any kind in the erection, repairing, altering or 
painting of a house, building or structure shall not fur- 
nish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the 
performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, 
ladders or other mechanical contrivances which are 
unsafe, unsuitable or improper, and which are not so 
constructed, placed and operated as to give proper pro- 
tection to the life and limb of a person so employed or 
engaged. 

Scaffolding or staging swung or suspended from an 
overhead support, more than twenty feet from the ground 
or floor, shall have a safety rail of wood, properly bolted, 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. \ \ 

secured and braced, rising at least thirty-four inches 
above the floor or main portions of such scaffolding or 
staging and extending along the entire length of the 
outside and the ends thereof, and properly attached 
thereto, and such scaffolding or staging shall be so fas- 
tened as to prevent the same from swaying from the 
building or structure. 

Inspection of Scaffolding, Ropes, Blocks, Pulleys and Tackles 
in Cities.— 

Sec. 19. Whenever complaint is made to the [com- 
missioner of labor] that the scaffolding or the slings, 
hangers, blocks, pulleys, stays, braces, ladders, irons, or 
ropes of any swinging or stationary scaffolding used in 
the construction, alteration, repairing, painting, clean- 
ing or pointing of buildings within the limits of a city 
are unsafe or liable to prove dangerous to the life or limb 
of any person, such [commissioner of labor] shall imme- 
diately cause an inspection to be made of such scaffold- 
ing, or the slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, stays, braces, 
ladders, irons or other parts connected therewith. If, 
after examination, such scaffolding or any of such parts 
is found to be dangerous to life or limb, the [commis- 
sioner of labor] shall prohibit the use thereof, and require 
the same to be altered and reconstructed so as to avoid 
such danger. The [commissioner of labor] or deputy 
[commissioner of labor] making the examination shall 
attach a certificate to the scaffolding, or the slings, 
hangers, irons, ropes, or other parts thereof, examined 
by him, stating that he has made such examination, and 
that he has found it unsafe, as the case may be. If he 
declares it unsafe, he shall at once, in writing, notify the 
person responsible for its erection of the fact, and warn 
him against the use thereof. Such notice may be served 
personally upon the person responsible for its erection, 
or by conspicuously affixing it to the scaffolding, or the 
part thereof declared to be unsafe. After such notice 
has been so served or affixed, the person responsible there- 
for shall immediately remove such scaffolding or part 
thereof and alter or strengthen it in such manner as to 
render it safe, in the discretion of the officer who has 



12 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

examined it, or of his superiors. The [commissioner of 
labor] and any of his deputies whose duty it is to ex- 
amine or test any scaffolding or part thereof, as required 
by this section, shall have free access, at all reasonable 
hours, to any building or premises containing them or 
where they may be in use. All swinging and stationary 
scaffolding shall be so constructed as to bear four times 
the maximum weight required to be dependant there- 
from or placed thereon, when in use, and not more than 
four men shall be allowed on any swinging scaffolding at 
one time. Amended by 1899, chap. 192, in effect April 1. 

Protection of Persons Employed on Buildings in Cities.— 

Sec. 20. All contractors and owners, when construct 
ing buildings in cities, where the plans and specifications 
require the floors to be arched between the beams thereof, 
or where the floors or filling in between the floors are of 
fire-proof material or brick-work, shall complete the 
flooring or filling in as the building progresses, to not less 
than within three tiers of beams below that on which the 
iron work is being erected. If the plans and specifica- 
tions of such buildings do not require filling in between 
the beams of floors with brick or fire-proof material 
all contractors for carpenter work, in the course of con- 
struction, shall lay the underflooring thereof on each 
story as the building progresses, to within not less 
than two stories below the one to which such building 
has been erected. Where double floors are not to be 
used, such contractor shall keep planked over the floor 
two stories below the story where the work is being per- 
formed. If the floor beams are of iron or steel, the con. 
tractors for the iron or steel work of buildings in course 
of construction or the owners of such buildings, shall 
thoroughly plank over the entire tier of iron or steel 
beams on which the structural iron or steel work is being 
erected, except such spaces as may be reasonably required 
fo- rthe proper construction of such iron or steel work 
and for the raising or lowering of materials to be used in 
the construction of such building, or such sp,aces as may 
be designated by the plans and specifications for stair- 
ways and elevator shafts. If elevating machines or hoist- 



GENERAL PROVISIONS. 13 

ing apparatus are used within a building in the course of 
construction, for the purpose of lifting materials to be 
used in such construction, the contractors or owners shall 
cause the shafts or openings in each floor to be enclosed 
or fenced in on all sides by a barrier at least eight feet 
in height. If a building in course of construction is five 
stories or more in height, no lumber or timber needed 
for such construction shall be hoisted or lifted on the out- 
side of such building. The chief officer, in any city, 
charged with the enforcement of the building laws of such 
city and the [commissioner of labor] are hereby charged 
with enforcing the provisions of this section. Amd by 
1899, chap. 192, in effect April 1. 

[Commissioner of Labor] to enforce Provisions of this 
Article.— 

Sec. 21. The [commissioner of labor] shall enforce all 
the provisions of this article. He shall investigate com- 
plaints made to him of violations of such provisions, and 
if he finds that such complaints are well founded he shall 
issue an order directed to the person or corporation com- 
plained of, requiring such person or corporation to comply 
with such provisions. If such order is disregarded the 
[commissioner of labor] shall present to the district at- 
torney of the proper county all the facts ascertained by 
him in regard to the alleged violation, and all other papers, 
documents or evidence pertaining thereto, which he may 
have in his possession. The district attorney to whom 
such presentation is made shall proceed at once to pro- 
secute the person or corporation for the violations com- 
plained of, pursuant to this chapter and the provisions of 
the penal code. If complaint is made to the [commissioner 
of labor] that any person contracting with the state or a 
municipal corporation for the performance of any public 
work fails to comply with or evades the provisions of this 
article respecting the payment of the prevailing rate of 
wages, the requirements of hours of labor or the employ- 
ment of citizens of the United States or of the State of 
New York, the [commissioner of labor] shall, if he finds 
such complaints to be well founded, present evidence of 
such noncompliance to the officer, department, or board 



14 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

having charge of such work. Such officer, department 
or board shall thereupon take the proper proceedings to 
revoke the contract of the person failing to comply with 
or evading such provisions. Added by 1899, chap. 192, 
in effect April. 1. 



COMMISSIONER OF LABOR STATISTICS. 15 



ARTICLE II. 

COMMISSIONER OF LABOR STATISTICS. 

Sec. 30-32. Repealed by Section 2, Chapter 9 of the 
Laws of 1901. Which see. 



3t> LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



AETICLE III. 

FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS. 

Section 40. Free public employment bureaus in cities of the first class. 

41. Duties of Superintendent. 

42. Application ; list of applicants. 

43. Applicants for help, when to notify Superintendent. 

Free Public Employment Bureaus in Cities of the first class.— 

Sec. 40. — The [commissioner of labor] shall organize 
and establish in all cities of the first class a free public 
employment bureau, for the purpose of receiving applica- 
tions of persons seeking employment, and applications of 
persons seeking to employ labor. No compensation or 
fee shall be charged or received, directly or indirectly, 
from persons applying for employment or help through 
any such bureau. Such commissioner shall appoint for 
each bureau so organized, and may remove for good and 
sufficient cause, a superintendent and such clerical assist- 
ants as, in his judgment, may be necessary for the 
proper administration of the affairs thereof. The salaries 
of such superintendents and clerks shall be fixed by the 
commissioner. Such salaries and the expenses of such 
bureau shall be paid in the same manner as other ex- 
penses of the bureau of labor statistics. 

Duties of Superintendent.— 

Sec. 41. The superintendent of each free public em- 
ployment bureau shall receive and record, in a book to 
be kept for that purpose, the names of all persons apply- 
ing for employment or for help, designating opposite the 
name and address of each applicant, the character of 
employment or help desired. 

Each such superintendent shall report, on Thursday of 
each week, to the [commissioner of labor], the names and 
addresses of all persons applying for employment or help, 



FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS. 17 

during the preceding week, the character of the employ 
ment or help desired, and the names of persons receiving 
employment through his bureau. 

Such superintendent shall also perform such other 
duties in the collection of labor statistics, and in the keep- 
ing of books and accounts of his bureau, as the commis- 
sioner may require, and shall report semi-annually to 
the [commissioner of labor] the expense of maintaining 
his bureau. 

Applications ; List of Applicants.— 

Sec. 42. Every application for employment or help 
made to a free public employment bureau shall be void 
after thirty days from its receipt, unless renewed by the 
applicant. 

The [commissioner of labor] shall cause two copies of a 
list of all applicants for employment or help, and the 
character of the employment or help desired, received by 
him from each free public employment bureau, to be 
mailed on Monday of each week to the superintendent of 
each bureau, one of which copies shall be posted by the 
superintendent, immediately on receipt thereof, in a con- 
spicuous place in his office, subject to the inspection of 
all persons desiring employment or help, and the other 
shall be filed in his office for reference. 

Applicants for Help ; When to Notify Superintendent.— 

Sec. 43. If an applicant for help has secured the 
same, he shall, within ten days thereafter, notify the 
superintendent of the bureau, to which application there- 
for was made. Such notice shall contain the name and 
last preceding address of the employe received through 
such bureau. If any such applicant neglects to so notify 
such superintendent, he shall be barred from all future 
rights and privileges of such employment bureau, at the 
discretion of the [commissioner of labor] to whom the 
superintendent shall report such neglect. 



18 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



ARTICLE IV. 

CONVICT-MADE GOODS, AND DUTIES OF [COMMISSIONER OF 
LABOR] RELATIVE THERETO. 

Section 50. License for sale of convict-made goods. 

51. Revocation of license. 

52. Annual statement of licensee. 

53. Labeling and marking of convict-made go ods. 

54. Duties of [commissioner of labor] relative to violations ; 

fines upon convictions. 

55. Article not to apply to goods manufactured for use of 

state or a municipal corporation. 

License for Sale of Convict-made Goods. — 

Sec. 50. No person or corporation shall sell, or expose 
for sale, any convict-made goods, wares or merchandise, 
either by sample or otherwise, without a license therefor. 
Such license may be obtained upon application in writing 
to the comptroller, setting forth the residence or post- 
office address of the applicant, the class of goods desired 
to be dealt in, the town, village or city, with the street 
number, if any, at which the business of such applicant 
is to be located. Such application shall be accompanied 
with a bond, executed by two or more responsible citizens, 
or some legally incorporated surety company authorized 
to do business in this state, to be approved by the comp- 
troller, in the sum of five thousand dollars, and condi- 
tioned that such applicant will comply with all the pro- 
visions of law, relative to the sale of convict-made goods, 
wares and merchandise. Such license shall be for a term 
of one year unless sooner revoked. Such person or cor- 
poration shall pay, annually, on or before the fifteenth 
day of January, the sum of five hundred dollars as a 
license fee, into the treasury of the state, which amount 
shall be credited to the maintenance account of the state 
prisons. 



CONVICT-MADE GOODS. 19 

Such license shall be kept conspicuously posted in the 
place of business of such licensee. 

Revocation of License.— 

Sec. 51. The comptroller may revoke the license of 
any such person or corporation, upon satisfactory evi- 
dence of, or upon conviction for the violation of any 
statute regulating the sale of convict-made goods, wares 
or merchandise ; such revocation shall not be made until 
after due notice to the licensee so complained of. For the 
purpose of this section, the comptroller or any person 
duly appointed by him, may administer oaths and sub- 
poena witnesses and take and hear testimony. 

Annual Statement of Licensee. — 

Sec. 52. Each person or corporation so licensed shall, 
annually, on or before the fifteenth day of January, 
transmit to the secretary of state a verified statement 
setting forth : 

1. The name of the person or corporation licensed. 

2. The names of the persons, agents, wardens or keep- 
ers of any prison, jail, penitentiary, reformatory or 
establishment using convict labor, with whom he has 
done business, and the name and address of the person 
or corporation to whom he has sold goods, wares and 
merchandise, and 

3. In general terms, the amount paid to each of such 
agents, wardens or keepers, for goods, wares or mer- 
chandise and the character thereof. 

Labeling and Marking Convict-made Goods.— 

Sec. 53. All goods, wares and merchandise made by 
convict labor in a penitentiary, prison, reformatory or 
other establishment in which convict labor is employed, 
shall be branded, labeled or marked as herein provided. 
The brand, label or mark, used for such purpose, shall 
contain at the head or top thereof, the words, "convict- 
made," followed by the year when, and the name of the 
penitentiary, prison, reformatory or other establishment 
in which the article branded, labeled or marked was 
made. 



20 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Such brands, labels and marks shall be printed in plain 
English lettering, of the style and size known as great 
primer Eoman condensed capitals. A brand or mark 
shall be used in all cases where the nature of the article 
will permit and only where such branding or marking is 
impossible shall a label be used. Such labels shall be in the 
form of a paper tag and shall be attached by wire to each 
article, where the nature of the article will permit, and 
shall be placed securely upon the box, crate or other 
covering in which such goods, wares or merchandise are 
packed, shipped or exposed for sale. 

Such brand, mark or label shall be placed upon the 
most conspicuous part of the finished article and its box, 
crate or covering. 

No convict-made goods, wares or merchandise shall be 
sold or exposed for sale without such brand, mark or 
label. 

Duties of [Commissioner of Labor] Relative to Violations ; 
Fines upon Convictions. — 

Sec. 51. The [commissioner of labor] shall enforce the 
provisions of this article. If he has reason to belie ve 
that any such provisions are being violated, he shall 
advise the district attorney of the county wherein such 
alleged violation has occurred of such fact, giving the 
information in support of his conclusion. The district 
attorney shall, at once, institute the proper proceedings 
to compel compliance with this article and secure convic- 
tion for such violations. 

Upon the conviction of a person or corporation for a 
violation of this article, one half of the fine recovered 
shall be paid and certified by the district attorney to the 
[commissioner of labor], who shall use such money in in- 
vestigating and securing information, in regard to viola- 
tions of this act and in paying the expenses of such con- 
viction. 

Articles not to Apply to Goods Manufactured for the use of 
the State or a Municipal Corporation.— 

Sec. 55. Nothing in this article shall apply to or 
affect the manufacture in state prisons, reformatories 



GONVICT-MADE GOODS. 21 

and penitentaries, and furnishing of articles for the use 
of the offices, departments and institutions of the state 
or any political division thereof, as provided by chapter 
four hundred and twenty-nine of the laws of eighteen 
hundred and ninety-six. 



22 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



AETICLE V. 

FACTORY INSPECTOR, ASSISTANT AND DEPUTIES 

Sections 60-67. Repealed by section 2 ; chapter 9, of 
the Laws of 1901. Which see. 



FACTORIES. 23 



ARTICLE VI. 

FACTORIES. 

Section 70. Employment of minors. 

71. Certificate for employment ; how issued. 

72. Contents of certificate. 

73. School attendance required. 

74. Vacation certificates. Repealed, Chap. 184, Laws 1903, 

75. Report of certificates issued. 

76. Registry of children employed. 

77. Hours of labor of minors. 

78. Change of hours of labor of minors. 

79. Enclosure and operation of elevators and hoisting shafts ; 

inspection. 

80. Stairs and doors. 

81. Protection of employes operating machines. 

82. Fire escapes. . 

83. [Commissioner of labor] may order erection of fire- 

escapes. 

84. Walls and ceilings. 

85. Size of rooms. 

86. Ventilation. 

87. Accidents to be reported. 

88. Wash-room and water-closets. 

89. Time allowed for meals. 

90. Inspection of factory buildings. 

Employment of Minors.— 

Sec. TO. No child under the age of fourteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in 
connection with any factory in this state. No child be- 
tween the ages of fourteen and sixteen years shall be so 
employed, permitted or suffered to work unless an em- 
ployment certificate issued as provided in this article 
shall have been theretofore filed in the office of the em- 
ployer at the place of employment of such child. Arad. 
by 1903, chap. 184, in effect Oct. 1. 

Employment Certificate How Issued.— 

Sec. 71. Such certificate shall be issued by the commis- 



24 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

sioner of health or the executive officer of the board or 
department of health of the city, town or village where 
such child resides, or is to be employed, or by such other 
officer thereof as may be designated, by such board, de- 
partment or commissioner for that purpose, upon the 
application of the parent or guardian or custodian of the 
child desiring such employment. Such officer shall not 
issue such certificate until he has received, examined, 
approved, and filed the following papers duly executed : 
(1) The school record of such child properly filled out and 
signed as provided in this article. (2) A passport or duly 
attested transcript of the certificate of birth or baptism, or 
other religious record, showing the date and place of 
birth of such child. A duly attested transcript of the 
birth certificate filed according to law with a registrar of 
vital statistics, or other officer charged with the duty of 
recording births, shall be conclusive evidence of the age of 
such child. (3) The affidavit of the patent or guardian 
or custodian of the child, which shall be required, how- 
ever, only in case such last mentioned transcript of the 
certificate of birth be not produced and filed, showing the 
place and date of birth of such child ; which affidavit 
must be taken before the officer issuing the employment 
certificate, who is hereby authorized and required to 
administer such oath, and who shall not demand or re- 
ceive a fee therefor. Such employment certificate shall 
not be issued until such child farther has personally 
appeared before and been examined by the officer issuing 
the certificate, and until such officer shall, after making* 
such examination, sign and file in his office a statement 
that the child can read and legibly write simple sentences 
in the English language and that in his opinion the child 
is fourteen years of age or upwards and has reached the 
normal development of a child of its age, and is in sound 
health and is physically able to perform the work which 
it intends to do. In doubtful cases such physical fitness 
shall be determined by a medical officer of the board or 
department of health. Every such employment certifi- 
cate shall be signed, in the presence of the officer issu- 
ing the same, by the child in whose name it is issued. 
Amd. by 1903, chap. 184, in effect Oct. 1. 



FACTORIES. 25 

Contents of Certificate.— 

Sec. 72. Such certificate shall state the date and place 
of birth of the child, and describe the color of the hair 
and eyes, the height and weight and any distinguishing 
facial marks of such child, and that, the papers required 
by the preceding section have been duly examined, ap- 
proved and filed, and that the child named in such cer- 
tificate has appeared before the officer signing the cer- 
tificate and been examined. Amd. by 1903, chap. 184, in 
effect Oct. 1. 

School Record, What to Contain.— 

Sec. 73. The school record required by this article 
shall be signed by the principal or chief executive officer 
of the school which such child has attended and shall be 
furnished, on demand, to a child entitled thereto or to 
the board, department or commissioner of health. It 
shall contain a statement certifying that the child has 
regularly attended the public schools or schools equivalent 
thereto or parochial schools for not less than one hundred 
and thirty days during the school year previous to his 
arriving at the age of fourteen years or during the year 
previous to applying for such school record and is able to 
read and write simple sentences in the English language, 
and has received during such period instruction in read- 
ing, spelling, writing, English grammar and geography 
and is familiar with the fundamental operations of arith- 
metic up to and including fractions. Such school record 
.shall also give the age and residence of the child as shown 
on the records of the school and the name of its parent 
or guardian or custodian. Amd. by 1903, chap. 184, in 
effect Oct. 1. 

Vacation Certificates. — 

Sec. 74. Repealed by Chapter 18^, section 3, Laws 
of 1903. Li effect Oct. 1. 

Report of Certificates Issued. — 

Sec. 75. The board or department of health or health 
commissioner of a city, village or town, shall transmit, 
between the first and tenth day of each month, to the 
office of the [commissioner of labor] a list of the names 
of the children to whom certificates have been issued. 



26 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Registry of Children Employed. — 

Sec. 76. Each person owning or operating a factory 
and employing children therein shall keep or cause to be 
kept in the office of such factory, a register, in which 
shall be recorded the name, birthplace, age and place of 
residence of all children so employed under the age of 
sixteen years. Such register and the certificate filed in 
such office shall be produced for inspection, upon the 
demand of the commissioner of labor. On termination 
of the employment of the child so registered, and whose 
certificate is so filed, such certificate shall be forthwith 
surrendered by the employer to the child or its parent or 
guardian or custodian. Amd. by 1903, chap. 184, in 
effect Oct. 1. 

Hours of Labor of Minors and Women.— 

Sec. 77. No minor under the age of sixteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any 
factory in this state before six o'clock in the morning, or 
after nine o'clock in the evening of any day, or for more 
than nine hours in any one day. No minor under the 
age of eighteen years, and no female shall be employed, 
permitted or suffered to work in any factory in this state 
before six o'clock in the morning, or after nine o'clock in 
the evening of any day ; or for more than ten hours in 
any one day except to make a shorter work day on the 
last day of the week ; or for more than sixty hours in 
any one week, or more hours in any one week than will 
make an average of ten hours per day for the whole 
number of days so worked. A printed notice, in a 
form which shall be prescribed and furnished by the 
commissioner of labor, stating the number of hours 
per day for each day of the week required of such persons, 
and the time when such work shall begin and end, shall 
be kept posted in a conspicuous place in each room where 
they are employed. But such persons may begin their 
work after the time for beginning and stop before the 
time for ending such work, mentioned in such notice, but 
they shall not otherwise be employed, permitted or suf- 
fered to work in such factor}*- except as stated therein. 
The terms of such notice shall not be changed after the 



FACTORIES. 27 

"beginning of labor on the first day of the week without 
the consent of the commissioner of labor. The presence 
of such persons at work in the factory at any other hours 
than those stated in the printed notice shall constitute 
prima facie evidence of a violation of this section of the 
law. Amd. by 1903, chap. 184, in effect Oct. 1. 

Change of Hours of Labor of Minors and Women.— 

Sec. 78. When in order to make a shorter work day 
on the last day of the week, a minor Over sixteen and 
under eighteen years of age, or a female sixteen years of 
age or upwards, is to be required or permitted to work in 
a factory more than ten hours a day, the employer of 
such persons shall notify the commissioner of labor in 
writing, of such intention, stating the number of hours 
of labor per day, which it is proposed to require or per- 
mit, and the time when it is proposed to cease such re- 
quirement or permission ; similar notification shall be 
made when such requirement or permission has actually 
ceased. A record of the names of the employes thus re- 
quired or permitted to work overtime, with the amount 
of such overtime, and the days upon which such work was 
performed, shall be kept in the office of such factory, and 
produced upon the demand of the commissioner of labor. 
Amd. by 11)03, chap. lS-t, in effect Oct. 1. 

(The word custodian as used in this act shall include 
any person, organization or society having the custody 
of said child.) 

Enclosure and Operation of Elevators and Hoisting Shafts ; 
Inspection. — 

Sec. 70. If, in the opinion of the [commissioner of la- 
bor], it is necessary to protect the life or limbs of factory 
employes, the owner, agent, or lessee of such factory 
where an elevator, hoisting shafts, or well-hole is used, 
shall cause, upon written notice from the [commissioner 
of labor], the same to be properly and substantially en- 
closed, secured or guarded, and shall provide such proper 
traps or automatic doors so fastened in or at all elevator 
ways, except passenger elevators enclosed on all sides, as 
to form a substantial surface when closed and so con- 
structed as to open and close by action of the elevator in 



28 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

its passage either ascending or descending. The [com- 
missioner of labor] may inspect the cable, gearing or 
other apparatus of elevators in factories and require them 
to be kept in a safe condition. 

No child under the age of fifteen years shall be em- 
ployed or permitted to have the care, custody or manage- 
ment of or to operate an elevator in a factory, nor shall 
any person under the age of eighteen years be employed 
or permitted to have the care, custody or management of 
or to operate an elevator therein, running at a speed of 
over two hundred feet a minute. 

Stairs and Doors.— 

Sec. 80. Proper and substantial hand rails shall be 
provided on all stairways in factories. The steps of such 
stairs shall be covered with rubber, securely fastened 
thereon, if in the opinion of the [commissioner of labor] 
the safety of employes would be promoted thereby. The 
stairs shall be properly screened at the sides and bottom. 
All doors leading in or to any such factory shall be so con- 
structed as to open outwardly where practicable, and 
shall not be locked, bolted or fastened during working 
hours. 

Protection of Employees Operating Machinery.— 

Sec. 81. The owner or person in charge of a factory 
where machinery is used, shall provide, in the discretion 
of the commissioner of labor, belt shifters or other me- 
chanical contrivances for the purpose of throwing on or 
off belts on pulleys. Whenever practicable, all machinery 
shall be provided with loose pulleys. All vats, pans, 
saws, planers, cogs, gearing, belting, shafting, set- 
screws and machinery, of every description, shall be prop- 
erly guarded. No person shall remove or make ineffec- 
tive any safeguard around or attached to machinery, vats 
or pans, while the same are in use, unless for the purpose 
of immediately making repairs thereto, and all such safe- 
guards so removed shall be promptly replaced. Exhaust 
fans of sufficient power shall be provided for the purpose 
of carrying off dust from emery wheels, grindstones and 
other machinery creating dust. If a machine or any part 
thereof is in a dangerous condition or is not properly- 



FACTORIES. 29 

guarded, the use thereof may be prohibited by the com- 
missioner of labor and a notice to that effect shall be at- 
tached thereto. Such notice shall not be removed until 
the machine is made safe and the required safeguards are 
provided, and in the meantime such unsafe or dangerous 
machinery shall not be used. When in the opinion of 
the commissioner of labor it is necessary, the workrooms, 
halls and stairs leading to the workrooms shall be pro- 
perly lighted, and in cities of the first class, if deemed 
necessary by the commissioner of labor, a proper light 
shall be kept burning by the owner or lessee in the 
public hallways near the stairs upon the entrance floor 
and upon the other floors on every work day in the 
year, from the time when the building is opened for 
use in the morning until the time it is closed in the 
evening, except at times when the influx of natural 
light shall make artificial light unnecessary. Such 
lights to be independent of the motive power of such 
factory. No male person under eighteen years or 
woman under twenty-one years of age shall be permitted 
or directed to clean machinery while in motion. Children 
under sixteen years of age shall not be permitted to oper- 
ate or assist in operating dangerous machines of any 
kind. Amd. by 1904, chap. 291, in effect April 13. 

Fire escapes.— 

Sec. 82. Such fire escapes as may be deemed neces- 
sary by the [commissioner of labor] shall be provided on 
the outside of every factory in this state consisting of 
three or more stories in height. Each escape shall con- 
nect with each floor above the first, and shall be of suf- 
ficient strength, well fastened and secured, and shall have 
landings or balconies not less than six feet in length and 
three feet in width, guarded by iron railings not less than 
three feet in height, embracing at least two windows at 
each story connected with the interior by easily accessible 
and unobstructed openings. The balconies or landings 
shall be connected by iron stairs, not less than eighteen 
inches wide, with steps of not less than six inches tread, 
placed at a proper slant and protected by a well-secured 
hand-rail on both sides, and shall have a drop ladder not 



30 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

less than twelve inches wide reaching from the lower plat, 
form to the ground. 

The windows or doors to the landing or balcony of each 
fire escape shall be of sufficient size and located as far as 
possible, consistent with accessibility, from the stairways 
and elevator hatchways or openings, and a ladder from 
such fire escape shall extend to the roof. Stationary 
stairs shall be provided on the inside of every factory 
from the upper story to the roof, as a means of escape in 
case of fire. 

[Commissioner of labor] may order Erection of Fire Escapes.— 
Sec. 83. Any other plan or style of fire escapes shall 
be sufficient if approved in writing by the [commissioner 
of labor]. If there is no fire escape, or the fire escape in 
use is not approved by the [commissioner of labor], he 
may, by a written order served upon the owner, proprie- 
tor or lessee of any factory, or the agent or superintend- 
ent thereof, or either of them, require one or more fire 
escapes to be provided therefor, at such locations and of 
such plan and style as shall be specified in such order. 

Within twenty days after the service of such order, the 
number of fire escapes required therein shall be provided, 
each of which shall be of the plan and style specified in the 
order, or of the plan and style described in the preceding 
section. 

"Walls and Ceilings. — 

Sec. 81. The walls and ceilings of each workroom in 
a factory shall be lime washed or painted, when in the 
opinion of the [commissioner of labor], it will be conducive 
to the health or cleanliness of the persons working 
therein. 

Size of Rooms.— 

Sec. 85. No moreemployesshall.be required or per- 
mitted to work in a room in a factory between the hours 
of six o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the even- 
ing than will allow to each of such employes, not less than 
two hundred and fifty cubic feet of air space ; and, un- 
less by a written permit of the [commissioner of labor], 



FACTORIES. 31 

not less than four hundred cubic feet for each employe, 
so employed between the hours of six o'clock in the even- 
ing and six o'clock in the morning, provided such room 
is lighted by electricity at all times during such hours, 
while persons are employed therein. 

Ventilation.— 

Sec. 86. The owner, agent or lessee of a factory shall 
provide, in each workroom thereof, proper and sufficient 
means of ventilation ; in case of farlure the [commissioner 
of labor] shall order such ventilation to be provided. 
Such owner, agent or lessee shall provide such ventilation 
within twenty days after the service upon him of such 
order, and in case of failure, shall forfeit to the people of 
the state, ten dollars for each day after the expiration of 
such twenty days, to be recovered by the [commissioner 
of labor], in his name of office. 

Accidents to be Reported. — 

Sec. 87. The person in charge of any factory, shall re- 
port in writing to the [commissioner of labor] all accidents 
or injuries sustained by any person therein, within forty- 
eight hours after the time of the accident, stating as fully 
as possible the extent and cause of the injury, and the 
place where the injured person has been sent, with such 
other information relative thereto as may be required by 
the [commissioner of labor] who may investigate the 
cause of such accident, and require such precautions to be 
taken, as will, in his judgment, prevent the recurrence 
of similar accidents. 



Sec. 88. Every factory shall contain a suitable, con- 
venient and separate water-closet .or water-closets for 
each sex, which shall be properly screened, ventilated, 
and kept clean and free from all obscene writing or mark- 
ing ; and also, a suitable and convenient wash-room. 
The water-closets used by women shall have separate ap- 
proaches. Inside closets shall be maintained whenever 
practicable and in all cases when required by the commis- 
sioner of labor. When women or girls are employed, a 



32 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

dressing room shall be provided for them, when required 
by the commissioner of labor. Amd. by 1901, chap. 306, 
in effect April 9. 

Time Allowed for Meals.— 

Sec. 89. In each factory at least sixty minutes shall 
be allowed for the noon-day meal, unless the [commis- 
sioner of labor] shall permit a shorter time. Such permit 
must be in writing and conspicuously posted in the main 
entrance of the factory, and may be revoked at any time. 
Where employes are required or permitted to work over- 
time for more than one hour after six o'clock in the even- 
ing, they shall be allowed at least twenty minutes to ob- 
tain a lunch before beginning work overtime. 

Inspection of Factory Buildings.— 

Sec. 90. The [commissioner of labor], or other com- 
petent person designated by him, upon request, shall ex- 
amine any factory outside of the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn, to determine whether it is in a safe condition. 
If it appears to him to be unsafe, he shall immediately 
notify the owner, agent or lessee thereof, specifying the 
defects, and require such repairs and improvements to be 
made as he may deem necessary. If the owner, agent or 
lessee shall fail to comply with such requirement, he shall 
forfeit to the people of the state the sum of fifty dollars, 
to be recovered by the [commissioner of labor] in his 
name of office. 

Inspection of Boilers in Factories. — 

Sec. 91. All boilers used for generating steam or heat 
for factory purposes shall be kept in good order, and the 
owner, agent, manager or lessee of such factory shall 
have such boilers inspected by a competent person ap- 
proved by the [commissioner of labor], once in six months, 
and shall file a certificate showing the result thereof in 
such factory office and a duplicate thereof in the office of 
the [commissioner of labor]. Each boiler or nest of 
boilers used for generating steam or heat for factory 
purposes shall be provided with a proper safety valve and 
with steam and water gauges, to show, respectively the 
pressure of steam and the height of water in the boilers- 



FACTORIES. 33 

Every boiler house in wliicli a boiler or nest of boilers is 
placed, shall be provided with a steam gauge properly 
connected with the boilers, and another steam gauge 
shall be attached to the steam pipe in the engine house, 
and so placed that the engineer or fireman can readily 
ascertain the pressure carried. Nothing in this section 
shall apply to boilers in factories which are regularly 
inspected by competent inspectors acting under the 
authority of local laws or ordinances. Added by 1899, 
chap. 192, in effect April 1. 

Laundries.— 

Sec. 92. A shop, room or building where one or more 
persons are employed in doing public laundry work by 
way of trade or for purposes of gain is a factory within 
the meaning of this chapter, and shall be subject to the 
visitation and inspection of the [commissioner of labor] 
and the provisions of this chapter in the same manner as 
any other factory. No such public laundry work shall 
be done in a room used for a sleeping or living room. All 
such laundries shall be kept in a clean condition and free 
from vermin and all impurities of an infectious or conta- 
ge< uis nature. This section shall not apply to any female 
engaged in doing custom laundry work at her home for 
a regular family trade. Amd. by 1901, chap. 477, in 
effect April 22. 

Employment of Women and Children at Polishing or 
Buffing. — 
Sec. 93. No male child under the age of eighteen 
years, nor any female, shall be employed in any factory 
in this state in operating or using any emery, tripoli, 
rouge, corundum, stone, carborundum or any abrasive, 
or emery polishing or buffing wheel, where articles of 
the baser metals or of iridium are manufactured. The 
owner, agent or lessee of a factory who employs any such 
person in the performance of such work is guilty of a 
misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined 
the sum of fifty dollars for each such violation. The 
commissioner of labor, his assistants and deputies shall 
enforce the provisions of this section. Amd. 1903, 
chap. 561, in effect May 12. 
3 



34 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



ARTICLE VII. 

TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 

SECTION 100. Manufacturing, altering, repairing or finishing articles in 
tenements. 

101. Register of persons to whom work is given. 

102. Goods unlawfully manufactured to be labeled. 

103. Powers and duties of boards of health relative to tene- 

ment made articles. 

104. Inspection of articles manufactured in other states. 

105. Owners of tenement and dwelling-houses or of buildings 

in the rear of such buildings, not to permit the unlawful 
use thereof. 

106. Copy of articles to be posted. 

Manufacturing, Altering, Repairing or Finishing Articles in 
Tenements.— 

Sec. 100. No tenement house nor any part thereof 
shall he used for the purpose of manufacturing, altering, 
repairing or finishing therein, aoy coats, vests, knee 
pants, trousers, overalls, cloaks, hats, caps, suspenders, 
jerseys, "blouses, dresses, waists, waistbands, underwear, 
neckwear, fur trimmings, fur garments, skirts, shirts, 
aprons, purses, pocket hooks, slippers, paper boxes, paper 
bags, feathers, artificial flowers, cigarettes, cigars or um- 
brellas, without a license therefor as provided in this 
article. But nothing herein contained shall apply to 
collars, cuffs, shirts or shirt waists made of cotton or linen 
fabrics that are subjected to the laundrying process be- 
fore being offered for sale. Application for such a license 
shall be made to the commissioner of labor by the owner 
of such tenement house, or by his duly authorized agent. 
Such application shall describe the house by street 
number or otherwise, as the case may be, in such man- 
ner as will enable the commissioner of labor easily to 
find the same ; it shall also state the number of apart- 
ments in such house ; it shall contain the full name and 
address of the owner of the said house, and shall be in 



TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 35 

such form as the commissioner of labor may determine. 
Blank applications shall be prepared and furnished by 
the commissioner of labor. Upon receipt of such appli- 
cation the commissioner of labor shall consult the records 
of the local health department or board, or other appro- 
priate local authority charged with the duty of sanitary 
inspection of such houses ; if such records show the pres- 
ence of any infectious, contagious or communicable dis- 
ease, or the existence of auy uncomplied with orders or 
violations which indicate the presence of unsanitary con- 
ditions in such house, the commissioner of labor, may, 
without making: an inspection of the building, deny such 
application for a license, and may continue to deny such 
application until such time as the records of said depart- 
ment, board or other local authority show the said tene- 
ment house is free from the presence of infectious, con- 
tagious or communicable disease, and from all unsani- 
tary conditions. Before, however, any such license is 
granted, an inspection of the building sought to be 
licensed must be made by the commissioner of labor, 
and a statement must be filed by him as a matter of 
public record, to the effect that the records of the local 
health department or board or other appropriate author- 
ity charged with the duty of sanitary inspection of such 
houses, show the existence of no infectious, contagious 
or communicable disease, nor of any unsanitary condi- 
tions in the said house ; such statement must be dated 
and signed in ink with the full name of the employee 
responsible therefor. A similar statement similarly 
signed, showing the results of the inspection of the said 
building must also be filed in the office of the commis- 
sioner of labor before any license is granted. If the 
commissioner of labor ascertain that such building is 
free from infectious, .contagious or communicable dis- 
ease, that there are no defects of plumbing that will per- 
mit the free entrance of sewer air, that such building is 
in a clean and proper sanitary condition and that the 
articles specified in this section may be manufactured 
therein under clean and healthful conditions, he shall 
grant a license permitting the use of such building, for 
the purpose of manufacturing, altering, repairing or 



36 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

finishing such articles. Such license shall be framed, 
such frame to be furnished by the commissioner of labor 
upon receipt by him of one dollar for which a receipt in 
writing shall be given, and shall be posted by the owner 
in a conspicuous place in the public hallway on the en- 
trance floor of the building to which it relates, it may be 
revoked by the commissioner of labor if the health of the 
community or of the employees requires it, or if the owner 
of said tenement house, or his duly authorized agent fails 
to comply with the orders of the commissioner of labor 
within ten days after the receipt of such orders, or if it 
appears that the building to which such license relates is 
not in a healthy and proper sanitary condition. In 
every case where a license is revoked or denied by the 
commissioner of labor the reasons therefor shall be stated 
in writing, and the records of such revocation or denial 
shall be deemed public records. Where a license is re- 
voked, before such tenement house can again be used 
for the purposes specified in this section, a new license 
must be obtained, as if no license had previously existed. 
Every tenement house and all the parts thereof in which 
any of the articles named in this section are manu- 
factured, altered, repaired or finished shall be kept in a 
clean and sanitary condition and shall be subject to in- 
spection and examination by the commissioner of labor, 
for the purpose of ascertaining whether said garments or 
articles or part or parts thereof, are clean and free from 
vermin and every matter of an infectious or contagious 
nature. An inspection shall be made by the commis- 
sioner of labor of each licensed tenement house not less 
than once in every six months, to determine its sanitary 
condition, and shall include all parts of such house and the 
plumbing thereof. Before making such inspection the 
commissioner of labor may consult the records of the local 
department or board charged with the duty of sanitar}^ 
inspection of tenement houses, to determine the fre- 
quency of orders issued by such department or board in 
relation to the said tenement house, since the last inspec- 
tion of such building was made by the commissioner of 
labor. Whenever the commissioner of labor finds any 
unsanitary condition in a tenement house for which a 



TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 37 

license has been issued as provided in this section, he 
shall at once issue an order to the owner thereof direct- 
ing him to remedy such condition forthwith. Whenever 
the commissioner of labor finds any of the articles speci- 
fied in this section manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished, or in process thereof, in a room or apartment of 
a tenement house, and such room cr apartment is in a 
filthy condition, he shall notify the tenants thereof to 
immediately clean the same, and to maintain it in a 
cleanly condition at all times ; where the commissioner 
oi labor finds such room or apartment to be habitually 
kept in a filthy condition, he may in his discretion cause 
to be affixed to the entrance door of such apartment a 
placard calling attention to such facts and prohibiting 
the manufacture, alteration, repair or finishing of said 
articles therein. No person, except the commissioner of 
labor, shall remove or deface any such placard so affixed. 
None of the articles specified in this section shall be 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished in any room 
or apartment of a tenement house, where there is or has 
been a case of infectious, contagious or communicable 
disease in such room or apartment, until such time as 
the local department or board of health shall certify to 
the commissioner of labor that such disease has been 
terminated, and that the said room or apartment has 
been properly disinfected, if disinfection after such dis- 
ease is required by the local ordinances, or by the rules 
or regulations of such department or board. None of 
the articles specified in this section shall be manufac- 
tured, altered, repaired, or finished in a part of a cellar 
or basement of a tenement house, which is more than 
one-half of its height below the level of the curb or 
ground outside of or adjoining the same. No person 
shall hire, employ or contract with any person to manu- 
facture, alter, repair or finish any of the articles 
named in this section in any room or apartment in any 
tenement house not having a license therefor issued as 
aforesaid. None of the articles specified in this section 
shall be manufactured, altered, repaired or finished in 
any room or apartment of a tenement house by any 
person other than the members of the family living 



38 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

therein, which shall include a husband and wife and 
their children, or the children of either. Nothing in 
this section contained shall prevent the employment of a 
tailor or seamstress by any person or family for the pur- 
pose of making, altering, repairing or finishing any 
article of wearing apparel for the use of such person or 
family. Amd. by 1904, chap. 550, in effect Oct. 1. 

Register of Persons to whom Work is given.— 

Sec. 101. Persons contracting for the manufacturing, 
altering, repairing or finishing of any articles mentioned 
in section one hundred of this act or giving out material 
from which they or any part of them are to be manu- 
factured, altered, repaired or finished, shall keep a regis- 
ter of the names and addresses plainly written in Eng- 
lish of the persons to whom such articles or materials 
are given to be so manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished or with whom they have contracted to do the 
same. It shall be incumbent upon all persons contract- 
ing for the manufacturing, altering, repairing or finish- 
ing of any of the articles specified in section one hundred 
of this act, or giving out material from which they or 
any part of them are to be manufactured, altered, re- 
paired or finished, before giving out the same to ascer- 
tain from the office of the commissioner of labor whether 
the tenement house in which such articles or materials 
are to be manufactured, altered, repaired or finished, is 
licensed as provided in this act, and also to ascertain from 
the local department or board of health the names and 
addresses of all persons then sick of any infectious, con- 
tagious or communicable disease, and residing in tene- 
ment houses ; and none of the said articles nor any 
material from which they or any part of them are to be 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished shall be given 
out or sent to any person residing in a tenement house 
that is not licensed as provided in this act, or to any per- 
son residing in a room or apartment in which there exists 
any infectious, contagious or communicable disease. 
The register mentioned in this section shall be subject to 
inspection by the commissioner of labor, and a copy 
thereof shall be furnished on his demand as well as such 



TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 39 

other information as he may require. Amd. by 1904, 
chap. 550, in effect Oct. 1. 

Goods Unlawfully Manufactured to be Labeled.— 

Sec. 102. Articles manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished contrary to the provisions of section one hundred 
of this chapter shall not be sold or exposed for sale by 
any person. The [commissioner of labor] shall conspic- 
ously affix to any such article found to be unlawfully 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished a label con- 
taining the words " tenement made " printed in small 
pica capital letters on a tag not less than four inches in 
length. The [commissioner of labor] shall notify the 
person owning or alleging to own such article that he 
has so labeled it. No person, except the [commissioner 
of labor], shall remove or deface any tag or label so 
affixed. Amd. by 1899, chap. 191, in effect Sept. 1. 

Powers and Duties of Boards of Health Relative to Tenement 
Made Articles.— 

Sec. 103. If the commissioner of labor finds evidence of 
disease present in a workshop or in a room or apartment in 
a tenement house or dwelling house, in which any of the 
articles named in section one hundred of this chapter are 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished or in process 
thereof, he shall affix to such articles the label prescribed 
in the preceding section, and immediately report to the 
local board of health, who shall disinfect such articles, if 
necessary, and thereupon remove such label. If the com- 
missioner of labor finds that infectious or contagious 
diseases exist in a workshop, room or apartment of a 
tenement or dwelling house in which any of the articles 
specified in section one hundred of this chapter, are being 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished, or that 
articles manufactured or in process of manufacture 
therein are infected, or that goods used therein are unfit 
for use, he shall report to the local board of health. The 
local health department or board in every city, town and 
village whenever there is any infectious, contagious or 
communicable disease in a tenement house shall cause 
an inspection of such tenement house to be made within 



40 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

forty-eight hours. If any of the articles specified in 
section one hundred of this act are found to be manu- 
factured, altered, repaired or finished, or in process there- 
of in an apartment in which such disease exists, such 
board shall issue such order as the public health may 
require, and shall at once report such facts to the com- 
missioner of labor, furnishing further information as he 
may require. Such board may condemn and destroy all 
such infected articles, or articles manufactured or in 
the process of manufacture under unclean or unhealthful 
conditions. The local health department or board or 
other appropriate authority charged with the duty of 
sanitary inspection of such houses, in every city, town 
and village shall, when so requested b} T the commissioner 
of labor, furnish copies of its records as to the presence 
of infectious, contagious or communicable disease, or of 
unsanitary conditions in said houses ; and shall furnish 
such other information as may be necessary to enable 
the commissioner of labor to carry out the provisions of 
this act. Amd. by 1904, chap. 550, in effect Oct. 1. 

Inspection of Articles Manufactured in Other States.— 

Sec. 104. Whenever it is reported to the [commis- 
sioner of labor] that any of the articles named in section 
one hundred of this chapter are being shipped into this 
state, having previously been manufactured in whole or 
in part under unclean, unsanitary or unhealthy condi- 
tions, said [commissioner] shall examine said articles and 
the conditions of their manufacture, and if upon such 
examination said goods or any part of them are found to 
contain vermin or to have been manufactured in im- 
proper places or under unhealthy conditions, he shall 
forthwith affix to them the tag or label hereinbefore de- 
scribed and report thereof to the local board of health 
which board shall thereupon make such order or orders 
as the public safety may require. Amd. by 1S99, chap. 
191, in effect Sept. 1. 

Owners of Tenements and Dwelling Houses not to Permit the 
Unlawful Use thereof.— 
Sec. 105. The owner or agent of a tenement house 
or dwelling house shall not permit the use thereof for the 



TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 41 

manufacture, repair, alteration or finishing of any of the 
articles mentioned in this article contrary to its provis- 
ions. 

If a room or apartment in such tenement hous.e or 
dwelling house be so unlawfully used, the commissioner 
of labor shall serve a notice thereof upon such owner 
or agent. Unless such owner or agent shall cause such 
unlawful manufacture to be discontinued within ten days 
after the service of such notice, or within fifteen days 
thereafter institutes and faithfully prosecutes proceed- 
ings for the dispossession of the occupant of a tenement 
house, or dwelling house who unlawfully manufactures, 
repairs, alters or finishes such articles therein, he shall be 
deemed guilty of a violation of this article as if he, him- 
self, was engaged in such unlawful manufacture, repair, 
alteration or finishing. The unlawful manufacture, re- 
pair, alteration or finishing of any of such articles by the 
occupant of a room or apartment of a tenement house, or 
dwelling shall be a cause for dispossessing such occupant 
by summary proceedings to recover possession of real 
property, as provided in the Code of Civil Procedure. 
Amd. by 1904, chap. 550, in effect Oct. 1. 

Copy of Articles to be Posted.— 

Sec. 106. A copy of articles five, six and seven shall be 
posted in a conspicuous place in each workroom of every 
factory where persons are employed who are affected by 
the provision thereof. Added 1901, chap. 475, in effect 
April 22. 



42 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



AETICLE VIII. 

BAKERIES AND CONFECTIONERY ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Section 110. Hours of labor in bakeries and confectionery estab- 
lishments. 

111. Drainage and plumbing of buildings and rooms occu- 

pied by bakeries. 

112. Requirements as to rooms, furniture, utensils and 

manufactured products. 

113. Wash rooms and closets ; sleeping places. 

114. Inspection of bakeries. 

115. Notice requiring alterations. 

Hours of Labor in Bakeries and Confectionery Establish- 
ments. — 

Sec. 110. No emplc^e shall be required or permitted 
to work in a biscuit, bread or cake bakery or confectionery 
establishment more than sixty hours in any one week, or 
more than ten hours in any one day, unless for the pur- 
pose of making a shorter work day on the last day of the 
week ; nor more hours in any one week than will make 
an average of ten hours per day for the number of days 
during such week in which such employe shall work. 

Drainage and Plumbing of Buildings and Rooms Occupied by- 
Bakeries.— 

Sec. 111. All buildings or rooms occupied as biscuit, 
bread, pie or cake bakeries, shall be drained and plumbed in 
a manner conducive to the proper and healthful sanitary 
conditions thereof, and shall be constructed with air shafts, 
windows or ventilating pipes, sufficient to insure venti- 
lation. The [commissioner of labor] may direct the pro- 
per drainage, plumbing and ventilation of such rooms or 
buildings. No cellar or basement, not now used for a 
bakery shall hereafter be so occupied or used, unless the 
proprietor shall comply with the sanitary provisions of 
this article. 



BAKERIES AND CONFECTIONERY ESTABLISHMENTS. 43 

Requirements as to Rooms, Furniture, Utensils and Manufac- 
tured Products.— 

Sec. 112. Every room used for the manufacture of 
flour or meal food products shall be at least eight feet in 
height and shall have, if deemed necessary by the [com- 
missioner of labor], an impermeable floor constructed of 
cement, or of tiles laid in cement, or an additional floor- 
ing of wood properly saturated with linseed oil. The 
side walls of such rooms shall be plastered or wainscoted. 
The [commissioner of labor] may require the side walls 
and ceiling to be white washed, at least once in three 
months. He may also require the wood-work of such 
walls to be painted. The furniture and utensils shall be 
so arranged as to be readily cleansed and not prevent the 
proper cleaning of any part of the room. The manufac- 
tured flour or meal food products shall be kept in dry and 
airy rooms so arranged that floors, shelves and all other 
facilities for storing the same can be properly cleaned. 
Xo domestic animals, except cats, shall be allowed to re- 
main in a room used as a biscuit, bread, pie, or cake 
bakery or any room in such bakery where flour or meal 
products are stored. 

"Wash-room and Closets ; Sleeping Places. — 

Sec. 113. Fvery such bakery shall be provided with a 
proper wash-room and water-closet or water-closets apart 
from the bake-room, or rooms where the manufacture of 
such food product is conducted, and no water-closet, 
earth closet, privy or ash-pit shall be within or connected 
directly with the bake-room of any bakery, hotel or pub- 
lic restaurant. 

Xo person shall sleep in a room occupied as a bake- 
room. Sleeping places for the persons employed in the 
bakery shall be separate from the rooms where flour or 
meal food products are manufactured or stored. If the 
sleeping places are on the same floor where such products 
are manufactured, stored or sold, the [commissioner of 
labor] may inspect and order them put in a proper sani- 
tary condition. 

Inspection of Bakeries.— 

Sec. 114. The [commissioner of labor] shall cause all 



44 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

bakeries to be inspected. If it be found upon such 
inspection that the bakeries so inspected are constructed 
and conducted in compliance with the provisions of this 
chapter, the [commissioner of labor] shall issue a certifi- 
cate to the persons owning or conducting such bakeries. 

Notice Requiring Alterations.— 

Sec. 115. If, in the opinion of the [commissioner of 
labor], alterations are required in or upon premises oc- 
cupied and used as bakeries, in order to comply with the 
provisions of this article, a written notice shall be served 
by him upon the owner, agent or lessee of such premises, 
either personally or by mail, requiring such alterations 
to be made within sixty days after such service, and such 
alterations shall be made accordingly. 



MINES AND THEIR INSPECTION. 45 



ARTICLE IX. 

MINES AND THEIR INSPECTION. 

Section 120. Duties of [commissioner of labor] relating to mines ; 
record and report. 

121. Outlets of mines. 

122. Ventilation and timbering of mines. 

123. Riding on loaded cars ; storage of inflammable supplies. 

124. Inspection of steam boilers and apparatus, steam and 

water gauges. 

125. Use of explosives ; blasting. 

126. Report of accidents. 

127. Notice of dangerous condition. 

128. Enforcement of article. 

129. Admission of inspectors to mines. 

Duties of [Commissioner of Labor] Relating to Mines ; Record 
and Report.— 

Sec. 120. The [commissioner of labor] shall see that 
every necessary precaution is taken to insure the safety 
and health of employes employed in the mines and quar- 
ries of the state and shall prescribe rules and regulations 
therefor ; keep a record of the names and location of such 
mines and quarries, and the names of the persons or cor- 
porations owning or operating the same, collect data con- 
cerning the working thereof ; examine carefully into the 
method of timbering shafts, drifts, inclines, slopes and 
tunnels, through which employes and other persons pass, 
in the performance of their daily labor, and see that per- 
sons or corporations owning and operating such mines 
and quarries comply with the provisions of this chapter ; 
and such information shall be furnished by the person 
operating such mine or quarry, upon the demand of the 
[commissioner of labor]. 

The [commissioner of labor] shall keep a record of all 
mine and quarry examinations, showing the date thereof, 



46 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and the condition in which the mines and quarries are 
found, and the manner of working the same. He shall 
make an annual report to the legislature during the 
month of January, containing a statement of the number 
of mines and quarries visited, the number in operation, 
the number of men employed and the number and cause 
of accidents, fatal and non-fatal, that may have occurred 
in and about the same. 

Outlets of Mines.— 

Sec. 121. If, in the opinion of the [commissioner of 
labor], it is necessary for safety of employes, the owner, 
operator or superintendent of a mine, operating through 
either a vertical or oblique shaft, or a horizontal tunnel, 
shall not employ any person therein unless there are in 
connection with the subterranean workings thereof not 
less than two openings or outlets, at least one hundred 
and fifty feet apart, and connected with each other. Such 
openings or outlets shall be so constructed as to provide 
safe and distinct means of ingress and egress from and 
to the surface, at all times, for the use of the employes 
of such mine. 

Ventilation and Timbering of Mines.— 

Sec. 122. In each mine a ventilating current shall be 
conducted and circulated along the face of all working 
places and through the roadways, in sufficient quantities 
to insure the safety of employes and remove smoke and 
noxious gases. 

Each owner, agent, manager or lessee of a mine shall 
cause it to be properly timbered, and the roof and sides 
of each working place therein properly secured. No per- 
son shall be required or permitted to work in an unsafe 
place or under dangerous material, except to make it 
secure. 

Riding on Loaded Cars ; Storage of Inflammable Supplies.— 

Sec. 123. No person shall ride or be permitted to ride 
on any loaded car, cage or bucket into or out of a mine. 
No powder or oils of any description shall be stored in a 
mine or quarry, or in or around shafts, engine or boiler- 



MINES AND THEIR INSPECTION. 47 

houses, and all supplies of an inflammable and de- 
structive nature shall be stored at a safe distance from 
the mine openings. 

Inspection of Steam Boilers and Apparatus ; Steam and 
Water Gauges.— 

Sec 124. All boilers used in generating steam for 
mining purposes shall be kept in good order, and the 
owner, agent, manager or lessee of such mine shall have 
such boilers inspected by a competent person, approved 
by the [commissioner of labor], once in six months, and 
shall file a certificate showing the result thereof in the 
mine office and a duplicate thereof in the office of the 
[commissioner of labor]. All engines, brakes, cages, 
buckets, ropes and chains shall be kept in good order and 
inspected daily by the superintendent of the mine or a 
person designated by him. 

Each boiler or nest of boilers used in mining for gen- 
erating steam, shall be prpvided with a proper safety 
valve with steam and water gauges, to show, respect- 
ively, the pressure of steam and the height of water in 
the boilers. Every boiler-house in which a boiler or nest 
of boilers is placed, shall be provided with a steam gauge 
properly connected with the boilers, and another steam 
gauge shall be attached to the steam pipe in the engine- 
house, and so placed that the engineer or fireman can 
readily ascertain the pressure carried. 

Use of Explosives ; Blasting.— 

Sec. 125. When high explosives other than gunpow- 
der are used in a mine or quarry, the manner of storing, 
keeping, moving, charging and firing, or in any manner 
using such explosives, shall be in accordance with rules 
prescribed by the [commissioner of labor]. 

The charging holes for blasting, in slate, rock or ore in 
any mine or quarry, no iron or steel-pointed needle or 
tamping bar shall be used, unless the end thereof is 
tipped with at least six inches of copper or other soft 
material. No person shall be employed to blast unless 
the mine superintendent or person having charge of such 
mine, is satisfied that he is qualified, by experience, to 



4:8 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

perform the work with ordinary srfety. When a blast is 
about to be fired in a mine timely notice thereof shall be 
given by the person in charge of the work, to all persons 
who may be in danger therefrom. 

Report of Accidents.— 

Sec. 126. Whenever loss of life or serious accident 
shall occur in the operation of a mine or quarry, the 
owner, agent, manager or lessee thereof shall immedi- 
ately report, in writing, all the facts connected therewith 
to the [commissioner of labor]. 

Notice of Dangerous Condition.— 

Sec. 127. If the [commissioner of labor], after ex- 
amination or otherwise, is of the opinion that a mine or 
anything used in the operation thereof, is unsafe, he 
shall immediately serve a written notice, specifying the 
defects, upon the owner, agent, manager or lessee, who 
shall forthwith remedy the same. 

Enforcement of Article.— 

Sec. 128. The [commissioner of labor] may serve a 
written notice upon the owner, agent, manager or lessee 
of a mine requiring him to comply with a specified pro- 
vision of this article. The [commissioner of labor] may 
thereafter begin an action in the supreme court to enforce 
compliance with such provisions ; and upon such notice 
as the court directs, an order may be granted, restrain- 
ing the working of such mine daring such time as may 
be therein specified. 

Admission of Inspectors to Mines.— 

Sec. 129. The owner, agent, manager or lessee of a 
mine, at any time, either day or night, shall admit to 
such mine or any building used in the operation thereof, 
the [commissioner of labor], or any person duly author- 
ized by him, -for the purpose of making the examinations 
and inspections necessary for the enforcement of this 
article, and shall render any necessary assistance for 
such inspection. 



STATE BOARD OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION. 49 



ARTICLE X. 

STATE BOARD OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION. 

Repealed by Chapter' 9, 1901, which see. 



50 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



AKTICLE XI. 

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN MERCAN- 
TILE ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Section 160. Application of article. 

161. Hours of labor of minors. 

162. Employment of children. 

163. Employment certificate ; how issued. 

164. Contents of certificate. 

165. School record ; what to contain. 

166. Summer vacation certificate. 

167. Registry of children employed. 

168. Wash-rooms and water-closets. 

169. Lunch-rooms. 

170. Seats for women in mercantile establishments. 

171. Employment of women and children in basements. 

172. Enforcement of article. 

173. Copy of article to be posted. 



Application of Article.— 

Sec. 160. The provisions of this article shall apply to 
all villages and cities which at the last preceding state 
enumeration had a population of three thousand or more. 

Hours of Labor of Minors.— 

Sec 161. No child under the age of sixteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in 
connection with any mercantile establishment, business 
office, or telegraph office, restaurant, hotel, apartment 
house, or in the distribution or transmission of merchan- 
dise or messages, more than fifty-four hours in any one 
week, or more than nine hours in any one day, or before 
seven o'clock in the morning or after ten o'clock in the 
evening of any day. No female employe between six- 
teen and twenty-one years of age shall be required, per- 
mitted or suffered to work in or in connection with any 
mercantile establishment more than sixty hours in any 



EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 51 

one week ; or more than ten hours in any one day, un- 
less for the purpose of making a shorter work day of 
some one day of the week ; or before seven o'clock in the 
morning or after ten o'clock in the evening of any day. 
This section does not apply to the employment of per- 
sons sixteen years of age or upwards on Saturday, pro- 
vided the total number of hours of labor in a week of 
any such persons does not exceed sixty hours, nor to the 
employment of such persons between the fifteenth day 
of December and the following first day of January. 
Not less than forty-five minutes shall be allowed for the 
noonday meal of the employes of any such establish- 
ment. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct. 1. 

Employment of Children :— 

Sec. 162. No child under the age of fourteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in 
connection with any mercantile or other establishment 
specified in the preceding section, except that a child up- 
wards of twelve years of age may be employed therein 
in villages and cities of the third class, during the sum- 
mer vacation of the public schools of the city or district 
where such establishment is situated. No child under 
the age of sixteen years shall be employed in any such 
establishment, unless an employment certificate issued 
as provided in this article, shall have been theretofore filed 
in the office of the employer at the place of employment 
of such child. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct. 1. 

Employment Certificate ; How Issued. — 

Sec. 103. Such certificate shall be issued by the com- 
missioner of health or the executive officer of the board 
or department of health of the city, town or village 
where such child resides or is to be employed, or by such 
other officer thereof as may be designated by such board, 
department or commissioner for that purpose, upon the 
application of the parent, guardian or custodian of the 
child desiring such employment. Such officer shall not 
issue such certificate until he has received, examined, 
approved and filed the following papers duly executed. 
(1) The school record of such child properly filled 



52 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

out and signed as provided in this article. (2) A pass- 
port or duly attested transcript of the certificate of 
birth or baptism or other religious record, showing the 
date and place of birth of such child. A duly attested 
transcript of the birth certificate filed according to law 
with a registrar of vital statistics, or other officer charged 
with the duty of recording births shall be conclusive evi- 
dence of the age of such child. (3) The affidavit of the 
parent, guardian or custodian of the child, which shall 
be required, however, only in case such last mentioned 
transcript of the certificate of birth be not produced and 
filed, showing the place and date of birth of such child ; 
which affidavit must be taken before the officer issuing 
the employment certificate, who is hereby authorized and 
required to administer such oath and who shall not de- 
mand or receive a fee therefor. Such employment cer_ 
tificate shall not be issued until such child shall further 
have personally appeared before and been examined by 
the officer issuing the certificate, and until such officer, 
shall, after making such examination, sign and file in 
his office a statement that the child can read and legibly 
write simple sentences in the English language and that 
in his opinion the child is fourteen years of age or up- 
wards and has reached the normal development of a 
child of its age and is in sound health and is physically 
able to perform the work which it intends to do. In 
doubtful cases such physical fitness may be determined 
by a medical officer of the board or department of health. 
Every such employment certificate shall be signed, in 
the presence of the officer issuing the same, by the child 
in whose name it is issued. Amd. 1903, Chap. 255, in 
effect Oct. 1. 

Contents of Certificates. — 

Sec. 164. Such certificate shall state the date and 
place of birth of the child, and describe the color of hair 
and eyes and the height and weight and any distinguish- 
ing facial marks of such child, and that, the papers re- 
quired by the preceding section have been duly examined, 
approved and filed and that the child named in such cer- 
tificate has appeared before the officer signing the cer- 



EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 53 

tificate and been examined. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, 
in effect Oct. 1. 

School Record, What to Contain.— 

Sec. 165. The school record required by this article 
shall be signed by the principal or chief executive officer 
of the school which such child has attended and shall be 
furnished on demand to a child entitled thereto or to the 
board, department or commissioner of health. It shall 
contain a statement certifying that the child has regu- 
larly attended the public schools or schools equivalent 
thereto or parochial schools for not less than one hundred 
and thirty days during the school year previous to his 
arriving at the age of fourteen years or during the year 
previous to his applying for such school record and is able 
to read and write simple sentences in the English lan- 
guage, has received during such period instruction in 
reading, spelling, writing, English grammar and geog- 
raphy and is familiar with the fundamental operations 
of arithmetic up to and including fractions. Such school 
record shall also give the age and residence of the child 
as shown on the records of the school and the name of its 
paivnts or guardian or custodian. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 
255, in effect Oct. 1. 

Summer Vacation Certificate. — 

Sec. 1G6. Children of the age of twelve years or more 
who can read and write simple sentences in the English 
language, may be employed, in mercantile and other es- 
tablishments specified in section one hundred and sixty- 
one, in villages and cities of the third class during the 
summer vacation of the public schools in the city or 
school district where such children reside upon obtaining 
the vacation certificate.herein provided. Such certificate 
shall be issued in the same manner, upon the same condi- 
tions, and on like proof that such child is twelve years of 
age or upwards, and is in sound health, as is required 
for the issuance of an employment certificate under this 
article, except that a school record of such child shall not 
be required. The certificate provided for in this section 
shall be designated summer vacation certificates, and 



54 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

shall in addition thereto specify the time in which the 
same shall remain in force and effect, which in no case 
shall be other than the time in which the public schools 
where such children reside are closed for a summer vaca- 
tion. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct, 1. 

Registry of Children Employed.— 

Sec. 167. The owner, manager or agent of a mercantile 
or other establishment specified in section one hundred and 
sixty-one, employing children, shall keep or cause to be 
kept, in the office of such establishment, a register, in 
which shall be recorded the name, birthplace, age and 
place of residence of all children so employed under the age 
of sixteen years. Such register and the certificates filed in 
such office shall be produced for inspection, upon the de- 
mand of an officer of the board, department or commis- 
sioner of health of the town, village or city w^here such 
establishment is situated. On termination of the em- 
ployment of the child so registered and whose certificate 
is so filed, such certificate shall be forthwith surrendered 
by the employer to the child or its parent or guardian or 
custodian. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct. 1. 

Wash-Rooms and Water-Closets. — 

Sec. 168. Suitable and proper wash-rooms and water- 
closets shall be provided in, adjacent to or connected with 
mercantile establishments where women and children are 
employed. Such rooms and closets shall be so located 
and arranged as to be easily accessible to the employes of 
such establishments. 

Such water-closets shall be properly screened and ven- 
tilated, and, at all times, kept in a clean condition. The 
water-closets assigned to the female employes of such es- 
tablishments shall be separate from those assigned to the 
male employes. 

If a mercantile establishment has not provided wash- 
rooms and water-closets, as required by this section, the 
board or department of health or health commissioners 
of the town, village or city where such establishment is 
situated, shall cause to be served upon the owner of the 
building occupied by such establishment, a written notice 



EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 55 

of the omission and directing such owner to comply with 
the provisions of this section respecting such wash-rooms 
and water-closets. 

Such owner shall, within fifteen days after the receipt 
of such notice, cause such wash-rooms and water-closets 
to be provided. 

Lunch-Rooms.— 

Sec. 169. If a lunch-room is provided in a mercantile 
establishment where females are employed, such lunch- 
room shall not be next to or adjoining the water-closets, 
unless permission is first obtained from the board or de- 
partment of health or health commissioners of the town, 
village or city where such mercantile establishment is 
situated. Such permission shall be granted unless it 
appears that proper sanitary conditions do not exist, and 
it may be revoked at any time by the board or department 
of health or health commissioner, if it appears that such 
lunch-room is kept in a manner or in a part of the build- 
ing injurious to the health of the employes. 

Seats for Women in Mercantile Establishments. — 

Sec. 170. Chairs, stools or other suitable seats shall be 
maintained in mercantile establishments for the use of 
female employes therein, to the number of at least one 
seat for every three females employed, and the use there- 
of by such employes shall be allowed at such times and to 
such extent as may be necessary for the preservation 
of their health. If the duties of the female employes, 
for the use of whom seats are furnished, are to be princi- 
pally performed in front of a counter, table, desk or 
fixture, such seats shall be placed in front thereof ; if 
such duties are to be principally performed behind such 
counter, table, desk or fixture, such seats shall be placed 
behind the same. 

Employment of Women and Children in Basements.— 

Sec. 171. Women or children shall not be employed or 
or directed to work in the basement of a mercantile es- 
tablishment, unless permitted by the board or department 
of health, or health commissioner of the town, village or 



56 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

city where such mercantile establishment is situated. 
Such permission shall be granted unless it appears that 
such basement is not sufficiently lighted and ventilated, 
and is not in a good sanitary condition. 

Enforcement of Article.— 

Sec. 172. The board or department of health or health 
commissioners of a town, village or city affected by this 
article shall enforce the same and prosecute all violations 
thereof. Proceedings to prosecute such violations must 
be begun within thirty days after the alleged offense was 
committed. All officers and members of such boards, or 
departments, all health commissioners, inspectors, and 
other persons appointed or designated by such boards, 
departments or commissioners may visit and inspect at 
reasonable hours and when practicable and necessary, all 
mercantile or other establishments herein specified with- 
in the town, village or city for which they are appointed. 
No person shall interfere with or prevent any such officer 
from making such visitations and inspections, nor shall 
he be obstructed or injured by force or otherwise while 
in the performance of his duties. All persons connected 
with any such mercantile or other establishment herein 
specified shall properly answer all questions asked by such 
officer or inspector in reference to any of the provisions 
of this article. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct. 1. 

Copy of Article to be Posted.— 

Sec. 173 — A copy of this article shall be posted in three 
conspicuous places in each establishment affected by its 
provisions. Amd. by 1903, Chap. 255, in effect Oct. 1. 



EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 57 



ARTICLE XII. 
Added, 1903, Chap. 151, in effect Sept. 1. 

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 

Section 174. Prohibited employment of children in street trades. 

175. Permit and badge for newsboys, how issued. 

176. Contents of permit and badge. 

177. Regulations concerning badge and permit. 

178. Badge and permit to be surrendered. 

179. Limit of hours. 

179 a. Violation of this article, how punished. 

Prohibited Employment of Children in Street Trades.— 

Sec. 174. Xo male child under ten, and no girl under 
sixteen years of age shall in any city of the first class 
sell or expose or offer for sale news-papers in any street 
or public place. 

Permit and Badge for Newsboys, How Issued.— 

Sec 175. Xo male child actually or apparently under 
fourteen years of age shall sell or expose or offer for sale 
said articles unless a permit and badge as hereinafter 
provided shall have been issued to him by the district 
superintendent of the board of education of the city and 
school district where said child resides, or by such other 
officer thereof as may be officially designated by such 
board for that purpose, on the application of the parent, 
guardian or other person having the custody of the child 
desiring such permit and badge, or in case said child has 
no parent, guardian or. custodian then on the application 
of his next friend, being an adult. Such permit and 
badge shall not be issued until the officer issuing the 
same shall have received, examined, approved and placed 
on file in his office satisfactory proof that such male child 
is of the age of ten years or upwards. No jDermit or 
badge provided for herein shall be valid, for any purpose, 
except during the period in which such proof shall remain 



58 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

on file, nor shall such permit or badge be authority be- 
yond the period fixed therein for its duration. After 
having received, examined, approved and placed on file 
such proof the officer shall issue to the child a permit and 
badge. 

Contents of Permit and Badge.— 

Sec. 176. Such permit shall state the date and place 
of birth of the child, the name and address of its parent, 
guardian, custodian or next friend, as the case may be,, 
and describe the color of hair and eyes, the height and 
weight and any distinguishing facial marks of such child, 
and shall further state that the proof required by the 
preceding section has been duly examined, approved and 
filed ; and that the child named in such permit has ap- 
peared before the officer issuing the permit. The badge 
furnished by the officer issuing the permit shall bear on 
its face a number corresponding to the number of the 
permit, and the name of the child. Every such permit, 
and every such badge on its reverse side, shall be signed 
in the presence of the officer issuing the same by the child 
in whose name it is issued. 

Regulations concerning Badge and Permit. — 

Sec. 177. The badge provided for herein shall be worn 
conspicuously at all times by such child while so working ;. 
and such permit and badge shall expire at the end of one 
year from the date of their issue. No child to whom 
such permit and badge are issued shall transfer the same 
to any other person nor be engaged in any city of the first 
class as a newsboy, or shall sell or expose or offer for sale 
newspapers in any street or public place without having 
upon his person such badge, and he shall exhibit the same 
upon demand at any time to any police, or attendance 
officer. 

Badge and permit to be surrendered.— 

Sec. 178. The parent, guardian, custodian or next 
friend, as the case may be, of every child to whom such 
permit and badge shall be issued shall surrender the same 
to the authority by which said permit and badge are 
issued at the expiration of the period provided therefor. 



EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 59 

Limit of Hours. 

Sec. 179. No child to whom a permit and badge are 
issued as provided for in the preceding sections shall sell 
or expose or offer for sale any newspapers after ten o'clock 
in the evening. 

Violation of this Article, how Punished.— 

Sec. 179a. Any child who shall work in any city of 
the first class in any street or public place as a newsboy 
or shall sell or expose for sale newspapers under circum- 
stances forbidden by the provisions of this article, must 
be arrested and brought before a court or magistrate 
having jurisdiction to commit a child to an incorporated 
charitable reformatory or other institution and be dealt 
with according to law ; and if any such child is committed 
to an institution, it shall, when practicable, be committed 
to an institution governed by persons of the same religious 
faith as the parents of such child. 



60 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



AETICLE XIII. 

Amd. 1899, Ch. 558, in effect May 10. 

EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF HORSESHOERS, 

Section 180. Application of Article. 

181. Board of examiners. 

182. Examination of applicants. 

183. Registration of horseshoers. 

184. Practice without examination. 

Application of Article. — 

Sec. 180. This article applies to all cities of the state. 

Board of Examiners.— 

Sec. 181. There shall continue to be a board of ex- 
aminers of horseshoers consisting of one veterinarian, 
two master horseshoers and two journeymen horse- 
shoers, all of whom shall be citizens and residents of the 
cities of the state. The examiners in office when this 
chapter takes effect shall continue therein until the 
thirty-first day of December following the date of the 
expiration of the terms for which they were respectively 
appointed, and thereafter their successors shall be ap- 
pointed by the governor for a term of Ave years. 

Examination of Applicants.— 

Sec. 182. The board of examiners shall, as often as 
necessary, hold sessions in the several cities for the pur- 
pose of examining applicants, desiring to practice as 
master or journeyman horseshoers. A person is not qual- 
ified to take such examination unless he has served an 
apprenticeship at horseshoeing for at least three years. 
If the person examined is shown to be qualified to prac- 
tice horseshoeing, the board shall issue to him a certifi- 
cate stating his name and residence, the time when ex- 



EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF HORSESHOERS. 61 

amined, when and where his apprenticeship was served, 
and that he is qualified to practice as master or journey- 
man horseshoer. Before he is entitled to be examined, 
an applicant must file with the board a written applica- 
tion stating his name, place of residence, and when, 
where and with whom his apprenticeship has been served. 
The board shall receive as compensation a fee of five 
dollars from each person examined. 

Registration of Horseshoers.— 

Sec. 183. Each journeyman or master horseshoer 
shall present such certificate to the clerk of the county 
where he proposes to practice and such clerk shall cause 
his name, residence and place of business to be registered 
in a book to be known as the " master and journeyman 
horseshoers' register." For each name so registered, the 
clerk is entitled to a fee of twenty-five cents. No person 
shall practice horseshoeing as a master or journeyman 
horseshoer in any city of the state unless he is registered 
and has a certificate, as provided by this article. 

Practice without Examination. — 

Sec. 184. A person who has practiced as a master or 
journeyman horseshoer within the United States con- 
tinuously for a period of three years may present to the 
board of examiners his affidavit, stating his name, age, 
place of residence and when and where he has practiced 
as such horseshoer. The board shall thereupon issue to 
him a certificate stating the facts set forth in such affi- 
davit and that such person is entitled to practice as a 
master or journeyman horseshoer, as the case may be. 
The person to whom the certificate is issued shall present 
it to the county clerk of the county where he intends to 
practice, and his name shall be registered, as provided 
in the preceding section. Such person may thereafter 
practice as a master or journeyman horseshoer in such 
county without examination. The board is entitled to a 
fee of one dollar for each certificate issued under this 
section. 



62 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



THE PENAL CODE. 

Sec. 168. If two or more persons conspire, either 

4. To cheat and defraud another out of property, by 
any means which are in themselves criminal, or which, 
if executed, would amount to a cheat, or to obtain money 
or any other property by false pretenses ; or 

5. To prevent another from exercising a lawful trade 
or calling, or doing any other lawful act, by force, 
threats, intimidation, or by interfering or threatening 
to interfere with tools, implements, or property belong- 
ing to or used by another, or with the use or employ- 
ment hereof ; 

Each of them is guilty of a misdemeanor. 

Sec. 170. The orderly and peaceable assembly or co- 
operation of persons employed in any calling, trade, or 
handicraft, for the purpose of obtaining an advance in 
the rate of wages or compensation, or of maintaining 
such rate, is not a conspiracy and is not punishable 
criminally. 

Sec. 171 "A." Any person or persons, employer or 
employers of labor, and any person or persons of any 
corporation or corporations on behalf of such corporation 
or corporations, who shall hereafter coerce or compel any 
person or persons, employe or employes, laborer or me- 
chanic, to enter into an agreement, either written or 
verbal, for such person, persons, employe, laborer or 
mechanic, not to join or become a member of any labor 
organization, as a condition of such person or persons 
securing employment, or continuing in the employment 
of any such person or persons, employer or employers, 
corporation or corporations, shall be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor. The penalty for such misdemeanor shall 
be imprisonment in a penal institution for not more than 
six months, or by a fine of not more than two hundred 
dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 1887. 

Sec 171 "B." A person, who, either by himself or 



THE PENAL CODE. 63 

with another, wilfully deprives a member of the national 
guard of his employment, or prevents his being employed 
by himself or another, or obstructs or annoys said mem- 
ber of said national guard, or his employer, in respect of 
his trade, business, or employment because said member 
of said national guard is such member, or dissuades any 
person from enlistment in the said national guard by 
threat or injury to him in case he shall so enlist, in re- 
spect of his employment, trade or business, is guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 1903. 

Sec. 171 "C." No association or corporation, consti- 
tuted or organized for the purpose of promoting the 
success of the trade, employment, or business of the 
members thereof, shall by any constitution, rule, by- 
law, resolution, vote, or regulation, discriminate against 
any member of the national guard of the state of New 
York, because of such membership in respect of the eligi- 
bility of such member of the said national guard to 
membership in such association or corporation, or in re- 
spect of his right to retain said last mentioned member- 
ship ; it being the purpose of this section and the section 
immediately preceding to protect a member of the said 
national guard from disadvantage in his means of liveli- 
hood and liberty therein but not to give him any prefer- 
ence or advantage on account of his membership of said 
national guard. A person who aids in enforcing any 
such provisions against a member of the said national 
guard with the intent to discriminate against him be- 
cause of such membership, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
1903. 

Sec. 259. The first day of the week being by general 
consent set apart for rest and religious uses, the law 
prohibits the doing on that day of certain acts hereinaf- 
ter specified, which are serious interruptions of the repose 
and religious liberty of the community. 

Sec. 2G0. A violation of the foregoing prohibition is 
Sabbath breaking. 

Sec. 263. All labor on Sunday is prohibited, excepting 



64 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the works of necessity or charity. In works of necessity 
or charity is included whatever is needful during the 
day for the good order, health or comfort of the com- 
munity. 1883. 

Sec. 264. It is a sufficient defense to a prosecution 
for work or labor on the first day of the week, that the 
defendant uniformly keeps another day of the week as 
holy time, and does not labor on that day, and that the 
labor complained of was done in such manner as not to 
interrupt or disturb other persons in observing the first 
day of the week as holy time. 1885. 

Sec. 265. All shooting, hunting, fishing, playing, 
horse-racing, gaming or other public sports, exercises or 
shows, upon the first day of the week, and all noise dis- 
turbing the peace of the day, are prohibited. 1883. 

Sec. 266. All trades, manufactures, agricultural or 
mechanical employments upon the first day of the week 
are prohibited, except that when the same are works of 
necessity they may be performed on that day in their 
usual and orderly manner, so as not to interfere with the 
repose and religious liberty of the community. 1883. 

Sec. %67. All manner of public selling or offering for 
sale of any property on Sunday is prohibited, except that 
articles of food may be sold and supplied at any time 
before ten o'clock in the morning, and except also that 
meals may be sold to be eaten on the premises where sold 
or served elsewhere by caterers ; and prepared tobacco, 
milk, ice and soda water, in places other than where 
spirituous or malt liquors or wines are kept or offered for 
sale, and fruit, flowers, confectionery, newspapers, drugs, 
medicines and surgical appliances may be sold in a quiet 
and orderly manner at any time through the day. The 
provisions of this section, however, shall not be construed 
to allow or permit the public sale or exposing for sale or 
delivery of uncooked flesh goods, or meats, fresh or salt, 
at "any hours or time of the day. Sept. 1, 1901. 



THE PENAL CODE. 65 

Sec. 268. All service of legal process of any kind 
whatever, upon the first day of the week, is prohibited, 
except in cases of breach of the peace, or apprehended 
breach of the peace, or when sued out for the apprehen- 
sion of a person charged with crime, or except where 
such service is specially authorized by statute. Service 
of any process upon such day, except as herein permitted, 
is absolutely void for any and every purpose whatsoever. 
1892. 

Sec. 269. Sabbath breaking is a misdemeanor, pun- 
ishable by a fine of not less than five and not more than 
ten dollars, or by imprisonment in a county jail not ex- 
ceeding five days, or by both, but for a second or third 
offense where the party shall have been previously con- 
victed it shall be punishable by a fine of not less than 
ten dollars and not more than twenty dollars, and by 
imprisonment in a county jail not less than five nor more 
than twenty days. 1887. 

Sec. 270. In addition to the penalty imposed by the 
last section, all property and commodities exposed for 
sale on the first day of the week in violation of the pro- 
visions of this chapter shall be forfeited. Upon convic- 
tion of the offender by a justice of the peace of a county, 
or by any police justice or magistrate, or by a mayor, 
recorder or alderman of the city, such officer shall issue 
a warrant for the seizure of the forfeited articles, which, 
when seized, shall be sold on one day's notice, and the 
proceeds paid to the overseers of the poor, for the use of 
the poor of the town or city. 1S83. 

Sec. 276. All processions and parades on Sunday in 
any city excepting only funeral processions and the actual 
burial of the dead and processions to and from the place 
of worship in connection with religious service there 
celebrated, are forbidden ; and in such excepted cases 
there shall be no music, fireworks, discharge of cannon 
or firearms, or other disbursing noise. — A person wilfully 
violating any provisions of this section is punishable by 
5 



60 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

a fine not exceeding twenty dollars, or imprisonment not 
exceeding ten days, or by both. 1895. 

Unlawful Dealing in Convict-made Goods.— 
Sec. 3S±b. A person who 

1. Sells or exposes for sale convict-made goods, wares 
or merchandise, without a license therefor, or having 1 
snch license does not transmit to the secretary of state 
the statement required by article four of the labor law, 
or 

2. Sells, offers for sale or has in his possession for sale 
any such convict-made goods, wares or merchandise with- 
out the brand, mark or label required by article four of 
the labor law ; or 

3. Removes or defaces or in any way alters such brand, 
mark or label, is guilty of misdemeanor, and upon con- 
viction therefor shall be punished by a fine of not more 
than one thousand nor less than one hundred dollars, or 
by imprisonment for not less than ten days or by both 
such fine and imprisonment. 1897. 

Failure to furnish Statistics to [Commissioner of Labor].— 

Sec. 3S4/. Any person who refuses, when requested by 
the [commissioner of labor], 

1. To admit him or a person authorized by him to a 
mine, factory, workshop, warehouse, elevator, foundry, 
machine shop or other manufacturing establishment ; 
or 

2. To furnish him with information relative to his 
duties which may be in such person's possession or under 
his control ; or, 

3. To answer questions put by such commissioner in a 
circular or otherwise, or shall knowingly answer such 
questions untruthfully, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
on conviction therefor shall be punished by a fine of not 
less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars. 1897. 

Refusal to admit Inspector to Mines and Quarries ; Failure to 
comply with Requirements of Inspector.— 

Sec. 384(7. A person, 

1. Eef using to admit the [commissioner of labor], or 



THE PENAL CODE. 67 

any person authorized by him, to a mine or quarry, for 
the purpose of examination and inspection. 

2. Neglecting or refusing to comply with the provisions 
of article nine of the labor law upon written notice of 
the [commissioner of labor], is guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and upon conviction tberefor shall be punished by a fine 
of not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not 
less than thirty days. 1897. 

Hours of Labor to be required. — 

Sec. 384:h. Any person or corporation, 

1. Who, contracting with the state or a municipal 
corporation, shall require more than eight hours' work 
for a day's labor ; or 

2. Who shall require more than ten hours' labor, in- 
cluding one-half hour for dinner, to be^performed within 
twelve consecutive hours, by the employes of a street 
surface and elevated railway owned or operated by cor- 
porations whose main line of travel or routes lie principally 
within the corporate limits of cities of more than one 
hundred thousand inhabitants ; or, 

3. Who shall require the employes of a corporation 
owning or operating a brickyard to work more than ten 
hours in any one day, or to commence work before seven 
o'clock in the morning, unless by agreement between 
employer and employe ; or, 

±. Who shall require the employes of a corporation 
operating a line of railroad of thirty miles in length or 
over, in whole or in part within this state to work con- 
trary to the requirements of article one of the labor law, 
is guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction therefor 
shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred 
nor more than one thousand dollars for each offense. If 
any contractor with the state or a municipal corporation 
shall require more than eight hours for a day's labor, 
upon the conviction therefor, in addition to such fine, the 
contract shall be forfeited at the option of the municipal 
corporation. 1897. 

Payment of Wages.— 

Sec. 3S4i. A corporation or joint stock association or a 



68 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

person carrying on the business thereof, by lease or other- 
wise, who does not pay the wages of its employes in cash, 
weekly or monthly as provided in article one of the labor 
law, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 
therefor, shall be fined not less than twenty -five nor more 
than fifty dollars for each offense. 1897. 

Failure to Furnish Seats for Female Employes.— 

Sec. 381J. Any person employing females in a factory 
or mercantile establishment who does not provide and 
maintain suitable seats for the use of such employes and 
permit the use thereof by such employes to such an ex- 
tent as may be reasonable for the preservation of their 
health, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 1897. 

No Fees to be charged for Services rendered by Free Public 
Employment Bureaus.— 

Sec. 384fc. A person connected with or employed in a 
free public employment bureau, who shall charge or re- 
ceive directly or indirectly, any fee or compensation 
from any person applying to such bureau for help or em- 
ployment, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 1897. 

Violations of Provisions of labor Law. — 

Sec. 384Z. Any person who violates or does not comply 
with : 

1. The provisions of article six of the labor law, relat- 
ing to factories ; 

2. The provisions of article seven of the labor law, re- 
lating to the manufacture of articles in tenements ; 

3. The provisions of article eight of the labor law, re- 
lating to bakeries and confectionery establishments, the 
employment of labor and the manufacture of flour or 
meal food products therein ; 

4. The provisions of article eleven of the labor law, 
relating to mercantile establishments, and the employ- 
ment of women and children therein ; 

5. And any person who knowingly makes a false state- 
ment in or in relation to any application made for an 
employment certificate as to any matter required by 
articles six and eleven of the labor law to appear in any 



THE PENAL CODE. 69 

affidavit, record, transcript or certificate therein provided 
for, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall 
be punished for a first offense by a fine of not less than 
twenty or more than one hundred dollars ; for a second 
offense by a fine of not less than fifty or more than two 
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than 
thirty days or by both such fine and imprisonment ; for 
a third offense by a fine of not less than two hundred and 
fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than sixty 
days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Oct. 
1, 1903. 

Illegal Practice of Horseshoeing.— 

Sec. 384:m. A person who presents to a county clerk, 
for the purpose of registration, a certificate purporting 
to qualify him to practice horseshoeing in a city of the 
first or second class, which has been fraudulently ob- 
tained, or practices as a horseshoer in any city without 
complying with the provisions of article twelve of the 
labor law, or violates or neglects to comply with any of 
such provisions, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 1S97. 

Negligently Furnishing Insecure Scaffolding.— 

Sec. 447a. A person or corporation employing or direct- 
ing another to perform or to do any labor in the erection, 
repairing, altering or painting, any house, building or 
structure within this state, who knowingly or negligently 
furnishes or erects or causes to be furnished or erected 
for the performance of such labor, unsafe, unsuitable 
or improper scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders or other 
mechanical contrivances ; or who hinders or obstructs 
any officer detailed to inspect the same, destroys or defaces 
any notice posted thereon, or permits the use thereof 
after the same has been declared unsafe by such officer 
contrary to the provisions of article one of the labor law, 
is guilty of a misdemeanor. 1897. 

Neglect to complete or plank Floors of Buildings constructed 
in Cities.— 

Sec. 447c. A person, constructing a building in a city 



70 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS, 

as owner or contractor, who violates the provisions of 
article one of the labor law, relating to the completing or 
laying of floors, or the planking of snch floors or tiers of 
beams as the work of construction progresses, is guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction therefor shall be 
punished by a fine for each offense of not less than 
twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars. 1897. 

Bribery of Labor Representatives. — 

Sec. 447/. A person who gives or offers to give any 
money or other things of value to any duly appointed rep- 
resentative of a labor organization with intent to influ- 
ence him in respect to any of his acts, decisions or other 
duties as such representative, or to induce him to prevent 
or cause a strike by the employees of any person or cor- 
poration, is guilty of a misdemeanor ; and no person shall 
be excused from attending and testifying, or producing 
any books, papers or other documents before any court or 
magistrate, upon any investigation, proceeding or trial, 
for a violation of this section, upon the ground or for the 
reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or 
otherwise, required of him, may convict him of a crime 
or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture ; but no person 
shall be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeit- 
ure for or on account of any transaction, matter or thing 
concerning which he may so testify or produce evidence, 
documentary or otherwise, and no testimony so given or 
produced shall be received against him upon any criminal 
investigation or proceeding. 1904, Sept. 1. 

Endangering Life by Refusal to Labor.— 

Sec. 673. A person who wilfully and maliciously, 
either alone or in combination with others, breaks a con- 
tract of service or hiring, knowing, or having reasonable 
cause to believe, that the probable consequence of his so 
doing will be to endanger human lives, or to cause 
grievous bodily injury, or to expose valuable property 
to destruction or serious injury, is guilty of a misde- 
meanor. 



SECTION 3414 OF THE CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE. 71 

SECTION 3414 OF THE CODE OF CIVIL 
PROCEDURE. 

(Being part of Chapter 419 of LL. 1897, Sept. 1.) 

Preference over Contractors. — 

Sec. 3414. When a laborer or a material-man shall 
perform labor or furnish materials for an improvement 
of real property for which he is entitled to a mechanic's 
lien, the amount due to him shall be paid out of the pro- 
ceeds of the sale of such property under any judgment 
rendered pursuant to this title, (mechanic's liens), in the 
order of priority of his lien, before any part of such pro- 
ceeds is paid to a contractor or subcontractor. If several 
notices of lien are filed for the same claim, as where the 
contractor has filed a notice of lien for the services of 
his workmen, and the workmen have also filed notices of 
lien, the judgment shall provide for but one payment of 
the claim which shall be paid to the parties entitled 
thereto in the order of priority. Payment voluntarily 
made upon any claim filed as a lien shall not impair or 
diminish the lien of any person except the person to whom 
the payment was made. 



LAWS OF 1898. 

CHAPTER 671. 
In effect April 30. 

An act to prevent fraudulent representation in labor 
organizations. 

Sec 1. Any person who represents himself or herself 
to be a member of, or who claims to represent a labor 
organization, which does not exist within the state, at 
the time of such representation, or who has in his or her 
possession a credential, certificate or letter of introduc- 
tion bearing a fraudulent seal, or bearing the seal of a 
labor organization which has ceased to exist, and does 
not exist at the time of such representation, and attempts 



72 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

to gain admission by the use of said credential, certificate 
or letter of introduction as a member of any convention, 
or meeting of representatives of labor organizations of 
the state, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con- 
viction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not less 
than twenty dollars nor more than fifty dollars, and im- 
prisonment for not less than ten days nor more than 
thirty days in the jail of the county wherein such con- 
viction is had, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 



LAWS OF 1901. 
CHAPTER 9. 
In effect Feb. 7. 

An act to create a department of labor and the office 
of commissioner of labor, and abolishing the offices of 
commissioner of labor statistics and factory inspector, 
and the state board of mediation and arbitration. 

Department of Labor and Office of Commissioner of Labor 
Created.— 

Sec. 1. A department of labor and the office of com- 
missioner of labor are hereby created. Within twenty 
days after this act takes effect, the governor, by and with 
the advice and. consent of the senate, shall appoint a com- 
missioner of labor, who shall hold his office until Jan- 
uary first, nineteen hundred and five. A successor to 
such commissioner shall be appointed in like manner and 
shall hold his office for a term of four years, beginning 
on the first day of January of the year in which he is 
appointed. Such commissioner shall be the head of such 
department and receive an annual salary of three thou- 
sand five hundred dollars. 

Offices Abolished ; Powers of Commissioner of Labor.— 

Sec 2. The offices of commissioner of labor statistics 
and factory inspector, and the state board of mediation 
and arbitration, shall be abolished upon the appointment 
and qualification of such commissioner of labor. The 



LAWS OF 1901. 73 

commissioner of labor shall have the powers conferred 
and perform the duties imposed by law upon the com- 
missioner of labor statistics and the factory inspector. 
(See pages 74-79 for duties and powers). 

Deputy Commissioners.— 

Sec. 3. The commissioner of labor shall forthwith 
upon entering upon the duties of his office appoint and 
may at pleasure remove, two deputy commissioners of 
labor to be designated respectively as the first and second 
deputy commissioners of labor, eacli of whom shall re- 
ceive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dol- 
lars. Upon the appointment of such deputies the offices 
of the assistant factory inspector, deputy commissioner 
of labor statistics and chief clerk of the commissioner of 
labor statistics are abolished. 

Bureaus of Department.— 

Sec. 4. The department of labor shall be divided by 
the commissioner of labor into three bureaus as follows : 
factory inspection, labor statistics and mediation and 
arbitration. The bureau of factory inspection shall be 
under the special charge of the first deputy commissioner 
of labor, who, under the supervision and direction of the 
commissioner of labor shall have such of the powers con- 
ferred, and perforin such of the duties imposed, by law 
upon the factory inspector, as shall be designated by the 
commissioner of labor. The bureau of labor statistics 
shall be under the special charge of the second deputy 
commissioner of labor, who, subject to the supervision 
and direction of the commissioner of labor shall have 
such of the powers conferred and perform such of the 
duties imposed by law upon the commissioner of labor 
statistics, as shall be designated by the commissioner of 
labor. The bureau of mediation and arbitration shall be 
under the special charge and supervision of the commis- 
sioner of labor, who, together with the first and second 
deputy commissioners of labor shall constitute aboard, 
which shall have the powers conferred, and perform the 
duties imposed, by law on the state board of mediation 
and arbitration. The powers hereby conferred upon the 



74 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

first and second deputy commissioners shall not include 
the appointment of officers, clerks or other employes in 
any of the bureaus of the department of labor. 

Officers and Employes.— 

Sec. 5. Except as provided by this act, the deputies, 
officers and employes in the office of, or appointed by the 
factory inspector, the commissioner of labor statistics and 
the state board of mediation and arbitration are con- 
tinued in office until removed pursuant to law. 

Construction.— 

Sec. 6. Wherever the terms commissioner of labor 
statistics, or factory inspector, occur in any laws, they 
shall be deemed to refer to the commissioner of labor, and 
wherever the term state board of mediation and arbitra- 
tion occurs in any law, it shall be deemed to refer to the 
board created by this act. 

Pending Actions and Proceedings.— 

Sec. 7. This act shall not affect pending actions ot 
proceedings, civil or criminal, brought by or against the 
commissioner of labor statistics or factory inspector. 
All proceedings and matters pending before the state 
board of mediation and arbitration when this act takes 
effect shall be continued and completed before the board 
hereby created ; and where a grievance or dispute has 
been submitted to the state board of mediation and arbi- 
tration, prior to the taking effect of this act, the board 
hereby created may make such further investigation in 
relation thereto as it deems necessary. 

Sec. 8. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with 
this act are hereby repealed. 



DUTIES AND POWEES OF COMMISSIONER OF 

LABOE. 

(As given by Sections 31 and 32 of the labor law to be 
the duties, powers etc. of the commissioner of labor 
statistics.) 



DUTIES AND POWERS OF COMMISSIONER OF LABOR. 75 

Sec. 31. The commissioner of labor shall collect, as- 
sort, systematize and present in animal reports to the 
legistature, within ten days after the convening thereof 
in each year, statistical details in relation to all depart- 
ments of labor in the state, especially in relation to the 
commercial, industrial, social and sanitary condition of 
workingmen and to the productive industries of the state. 
He may subpoena witnesses, take and hear testimony, 
take or cause to be taken depositions and administer 
oaths. * 

Sec. 32. The owner, operator, manager or lessee of 
any mine, factory, warehouse, elevator, foundry, ma- 
chine shop or other manufacturing establishment, or any 
agent, superintendent, subordinate, or employe thereof, 
shall, when requested by the commissioner of labor, fur- 
nish any information in his possession or under his con- 
trol which the commissioner is authorized to require, and 
shall admit him to any place herein named for the pur- 
pose of inspection. All statistics furnished to the com- 
missioner of labor, pursuant to this article, may be 
destroyed by such commissioner after the expiration of 
two years from the time of the receipt thereof 

A person refusing to admit such commissioner, or a 
person authorized by him, to any such establishment, or 
to furnish him any information requested, or who refuses 
to answer or untruthfully answers questions put to him 
by such commissioner, in a circular or otherwise, shall 
forfeit to the people of the state the sum of one hundred 
dollars for each refusal and answer untruthfully given, 
to be sued for and recovered by the commissioner in his 
name of office. The amount so recovered shall be paid 
into the state treasury. 

(As given by sections 62-67, to be the duties, powers 
etc. of the Factory Inspector). 

Sec. <>2. The commissioner of labor may divide the 
state into districts, assign one or more deputies to each 
district, and may, in his discretion, transfer them from 
one district to another. 

The commissioner of labor shall visit and inspect, or 



76 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

cause to be visited and inspected, the factories, during 
reasonable hours, as often as practicable, and shall cause 
the provisions of this chapter to be enforced therein and 
prosecute all persons violating the same. 

Any lawful municipal ordinance, by-law or regulation 
relating to factories or their inspection, in addition to the 
provisions of this chapter and not in conflict therewith, 
shall be observed and enforced by the commissioner of 
labor. 

The commissioner of labor and deputies may administer 
oaths and take affidavits in matters relating to the en- 
forcement of the provisions of this chapter. 

No person shall interfere with, obstruct or hinder, by 
force or otherwise, the commissioner of labor or deputies 
while in the performance of their duties, or refuse to 
properly answer questions asked by such officers pertain- 
ing to the provisions of this chapter. 

All notices, orders and directions of deputies given in 
accordance with this chapter are subject to the approval 
of the commissioner of labor. 

Sec. 63. The commissioner of labor shall report an- 
nually to the legislature in the month of January. The 
deputies shall report to the commissioner of labor, from 
time to time as he may require. 

Sec 67. The commissioner of labor and his deputies 
shall enforce the provisions of the Domestic Relations 
Law, relative to indentures of apprentices, and prosecute 
employers for failure to comply with the provisions of 
such indentures and of such law in relation thereto. 

(As given by sections 142-149.) 

Sec. 142. A grievance or dispute between an employer 
and his employes may be submitted to the Bureau of Ar- 
bitration and Mediation for their determination and set- 
tlement. Such submission shall be in writing, and con- 
tain a statement in detail of the grievance or dispute and 
the cause thereof, and also an agreement to abide the 
determination of the bureau, and during the investigation 
to continue in business or at work, without a lock-out or 
strike. 



DUTIES AND POWERS OF COMMISSIONER OF LABOR. 77 

Upon such submission, the bureau shall examine the 
matter in controversy. For the purpose of such inquiry 
they may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance 
and take and hear testimony. Witnesses shall be allowed 
the same fees as in courts of record. The decision of the 
court must be rendered within ten days after the comple- 
tion of the investigation. 

Sec. 143. Whenever a strike or lock-out occurs or is 
seriously threatened, the bureau shall proceed as soon as 
practicable to the locality thereof , and endeavor by media- 
tion to effect an amicable settlement of the controversy. 
It may inquire into the cause thereof, and for that 
purpose has the same power as in the case of a con- 
troversy submitted to it for arbitration. 

Sec. 144. Within ten days after the completion of 
every examination or investigation authorized by this 
article, the bureau or a majority thereof shall render a 
decision, stating such details as will clearly show the 
nature of the controversy and the points disposed of by 
them, and make a written report of their findings of fact 
and of their recommendations to each party to the con- 
troversy. 

Every decision and report shall be filed in the office of 
the bureau and a copy thereof served upon each party to 
the controversy, and in case of a submission to arbitration, 
a copy shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the county 
or counties where the controversy arose. 

Sec 145. The bureau shall make an annual report to 
the legislature, and shall include therein such statements 
and explanations as will disclose the actual work of the 
board, the facts relating to each controversy considered 
by them and the decision thereon, together with such sug- 
gestions as to legislation as may seem to them conducive 
to harmony in the relations of employers and employes. 

Sec. 146. A grievance or dispute between an employer 
and his employes may be submitted to a board of arbitra- 
tors, consisting of three persons, for hearing and settle- 



78 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ment. When the employes concerned are members in 
good standing of a labor organization, which is repre- 
sented by one or more delegates in a central body, one 
arbitrator may be appointed by such central body, the 
organization of which they are members may select and 
designate one arbitrator. If such employes are not mem- 
bers of a labor organization, a majority thereof at a meet- 
ing duly called for that purpose, may designate one arbi- 
trator for such board. 

Sec. 147. Before entering upon his duties, each arbi- 
trator so selected shall sign a consent to act and take and 
subscribe an oath to faithfully and impartially discharge 
his duties as such arbitrator, which consent and oath 
shall be filed in the clerk's office of the county or counties 
where the controversy arose. When such board is ready 
for the transaction of business, it shall select one of its 
members to act as secretary, and notice of the time and 
place of hearing shall be given to the parties of the con- 
troversy. The board may, through its chairman, sub- 
poena witnesses, compel their attendance and hear testi- 
mony. 

The board may make and enforce rules for its govern- 
ment and the transaction of the business before it, and 
fix its sessions and adjournments. 

Sec 148. The board shall, within ten days after the 
close of the hearing, render a written decision signed by 
them, giving such details as clearly show the nature of 
the controversy and the questions decided by them. Such 
decision shall be a settlement of the matter submitted to 
such arbitrators, unless within ten days thereafter an ap- 
peal is taken therefrom to the state board of mediation 
and arbitration. 

One copy of the decision shall be filed in the office of 
the clerk of the county or counties where the controversy 
arose, and one copy shall be transmitted to the secretary 
of the state board of mediation and arbitration. 

Sec. 149. The state board of mediation and arbitra- 
tion shall hear, consider and investigate every appeal to 



LAWS OF 1902. 79 

it from any such board of local arbitrators, and its decis- 
ions shall be in writing and a copy thereof filed in the 
clerk's office of the county or counties where the contro- 
versy arose and duplicate copies served upon each party 
to the controversy. Such decision shall be final and con- 
clusive upon all parties to the arbitration. 

(Also many other duties and powers, as given by the 
Labor Law, which see.) 



LAWS OF 1902. 

CHAPTER 39. 
In effect Feb. 20. 

Amending section 24 of chapter 614 of 1897, and chapter 

677 of 1892. 

Public Holidays; Half Holiday .— 

Sec. 21. The term holiday includes the following days 
in each year ; The first day of January, known as New 
Year's day ; the twelfth day of February, known as 
Lincoln's birthday ; the twenty-second day of February, 
known as Washington's birthday ; the thirtieth day of 
May, known as Memorial day ; the fourth day of July, 
known as Independence day ; the first Monday of Sep- 
tember, known as Labor day ; and the twenty-fifth day 
of December, known as Christmas day ; and if either of 
such holidays is Sunday, the next day thereafter ; each 
general election day and each day appointed by the 
President of the United States or by the governor of this 
state as a day of general thanksgiving, general fasting 
andfprayer, or other general religious observances. The 
term, half-holiday, includes the period from noon to mid- 
night of each Saturday which is not a holiday. The days 
and half days aforesaid shall be considered as the first 
day of the week, commonly called Sunday, and as public 
holidays or half holidays, for all purposes whatsoever as 
regards the transaction of business in the public offices of 
this state, or counties of this state. On all other days 
and half days, excepting Sundays, such offices shall be 



80 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

kept open for the transaction of business. Where a con- 
tract by its terms requires the payment of money or the 
performance of a condition on a public holiday, such pay- 
ment may be made or condition performed on the next 
business day succeeding such holiday, with the same force 
and effect as if made or performed in accordance with the 
terms of the contract. 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT. 
LAWS OF 1902. 

CHAPTER 600. 

In effect July 1. 

An Act to extend and regulate the liability of em- 
ployers to make compensation for personal injuries 
suffered by employees. 

Sec. 1. Where, after this act takes effect, personal in- 
jury is caused to an employee who is himself in the ex- 
ercise of due care and diligence at the time : 

1. By reason of any defect in the condition of the ways, 
works or machinery connected with or used in the busi- 
ness of the employer which arose from or had not been 
discovered or remedied owing to the negligence of the 
employer or of any person in the service of the employer 
and entrusted by him with the duty of seeing that the 
ways, works or machinery were in proper condition ; 

2. By reason of the negligence of any person in the 
service of the employer entrusted with and exercising 
superintendence whose sole or principal duty is that of 
superintendence, or in the absence of such superintendent, 
of any person acting as superintendent with the authority 
or consent of such employer ; the employee, or in case 
the injury results in death, the executor or administrator 
of a deceased employee who has left him surviving a 
husband, wife or next of kin, shall have the same right 
of compensation and remedies against the employer as if 
the employee had not been an employee of nor in the 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT. 81 

service of the employer nor engaged in his work. The 
provisions of law relating to actions for causing death by 
negligence, so far as the same are consistent with this 
act, shall apply to an action brought by an executor or 
administrator of a deceased employee suing under the 
provisions of this act. 

Sec. 2. No action for recovery of compensation for in- 
jury or death under this act shall be maintained unless 
notice of the time, place and cause of the injury is given 
to the employer within one hundred and twenty days 
and the action is commenced within one year after the 
occurrence of the accident causing the injury or death. 
The notice required by this section shall be in writing 
and signed by the person injured or by some one in his 
behalf, but if from physical or mental incapacity it is im- 
possible for the person injured to give notice within the 
time provided in said section, he may give the same with- 
in ten days after such incapacity is removed. In case of 
his death without having given such notice, his executor 
or administrator may give such notice within sixty days 
after his appointment, but no notice under the provisions 
of this section shall be deemed to be invalid or insufficient 
solely by reason of any inaccuracy in stating the time, 
place or cause of the injury if it be shown that there was 
no intention to mislead and that the party entitled to 
notice was not in fact misled thereby. The notice re- 
quired by this section shall be served on the employer, or 
if there is more than one employer, upon one of such 
employers, and may be served by delivering the same to 
or at the residence or place of business of the person on 
whom it is to be served. The notice may be served by 
post by letter addressed to the person on whom it is to be 
served, at his last known place of residence or place of 
business and if served by post shall be deemed to have 
been served at the time when the letter containing the 
same would be delivered in the ordinary course of the 
post. When the employer is a corporation, notice shall 
be served by delivering the same or uy sending it by post 
addressed to the office or principal place of business of 
such corporation. 



82 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Sec. 3 An employee by entering upon or continuing- 
in the service of the employer shall be presumed to have 
assented to the necessary risks of the occupation or em- 
ployment and no others. The necessary risks of the 
occupation or employment shall, in all cases arising after 
this act takes effect be considered as including those risks, 
and those only, inherent in the nature of the business 
which remain after the employer has exercised due care 
in providing for the safety of his employees, and has 
complied with the laws affecting or regulating such busi- 
ness or occupation for the greater safety of such em- 
ployees. In an action maintained for the recovery of 
damages for personal injuries to an employee received 
after this act takes effect, owing to any cause for which 
the employer would otherwise be liable, the fact that the 
employee continued in the service of the employer in the 
same place and course of employment after the discovery 
by such employee, or after he had been informed of, the 
danger of personal injury therefrom, shall not, as a 
matter of law, be considered as an assent by such em- 
ployee to the existence or continuance of such risks of 
personal injury therefrom, or as negligence contributing 
to such injury. The question whether the employee 
understood and assumed the risk of such injury, or was 
guilty of contributory negligence, by his continuance in 
the same place and course of employment with knowledge 
of the risk of injury shall be one of fact, subject to the 
usual powers of the court in a proper case to set aside a 
verdict rendered contrary to the evidence. An empk^ee, 
or his legal representative, shall not be entitled under 
this act to any right of compensation or remedy against 
the employer in any case where such employee knew of 
the defect or negligence which caused the injury and 
failed, within a reasonable time, to give, or cause to be 
given, information thereof to the employer, or to some 
person superior to himself in the service of the employer 
who had intrusted to him some general superintendence, 
unless it shall appear on the trial that such defect or negli- 
gence was known to such employer or superior person, 
prior to such injuries to the employee. 



LAWS OF 1903. 83 

Sec. 4. An employer who shall have contributed to 
an insurance fund created and maintained for the mutual 
purposes of indemnifying an employee for personal in- 
juries, for which compensation may be recovered under 
this act, or to any relief society or benefit fund created 
under the laws of this state, may prove in mitigation of 
damages recoverable by an employee under this act such 
proportion of the pecuniary benefit which has been re- 
ceived by such employee from such fund or society on ac- 
count of such contribution of employer, as the contribu- 
tion of such employer to such fund or society bears to the 
whole contribution thereto. 

Sec. 5. Every existing right of action for negligence or 
to recover damages for injuries resulting in death is con- 
tinued and nothing in this act contained shall be con- 
strued as limiting any such right of action, nor shall the 
failure to give the notice provided for in section two of 
this act be a bar to the maintenance of a suit upon any 
such existing right of action. 



LAWS OF 1903. 

CHAPTER 459, SECTION 4. 
In effect May 7. 

Amending Section 5 of Title 16 of Chapter 556 of the 
Laws of 1894, known as the Consolidated School Law. 

Persons employing Children unlawfully to be fined.— 

Sec. 5. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or cor- 
poration to employ any child under fourteen years of age, 
in any business or seryice whatever, during any part of 
the term during which the public schools of the district 
in which the child resides are in session ; or to employ 
any child between fourteen and sixteen years of age who 
does not, at the time of such employment, present a cer- 
tificate signed by the superintendent of schools or by the 
principal or the principal teacher of the city or district in 
which the child resides, or by the principal or principal 



84 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

teacher of the school where the child has attended or is 
attending, or by such other officer as the school author- 
ities may designate, certifying that such child during the 
school year next preceding his application for such cer- 
tificate, has attended for not less than one hundred and 
thirty days the public schools, or schools having an ele- 
mentary course equivalent thereto, in such city or district 
and that such child can read and write easy English 
prose and is familiar with the fundamental operations of 
arithmetic, or to employ, in any city of the first class or 
a city of the second class, any child between fourteen 
and sixteen years of age who has not completed such 
course of study as the public elementary schools of such 
city require for graduation from such schools and who 
does not hold either a certificate of graduation from the 
public elementary school or the preacademic certificate 
issued by the regents of the university of the State of 
New York or the certificate of the completion of an ele- 
mentary school issued by the department of public in- 
struction, unless the employer of such child, if a boy, 
shall keep and shall display in the place where such child 
is employed and shall show whenever so requested by an 
attendance officer, [commissioner of labor] or repre- 
sentative of the police department, a certificate signed 
by the school authorities or such school officers in said 
city as said school authorities shall designate, which 
school authorities, or officers designated by them, are 
hereby required to issue such certificate to those entitled 
to them not less .frequently than one in each month dur- 
ing which said evening school is in session and at the 
close of the session of said evening school, stating that said 
child has been in attendance upon said evening school for 
not less than six hours each week for such number of 
weeks as will, when taken in connection with the number 
of weeks such evening school will be in session during the 
remainder of the current or calendar year, make up a total 
attendance on the part of said child in said evening school 
of not less than six hours per week for a period of not 
less than sixteen weeks, and any person who shall em- 
ploy any child contrary to the provisions of this section 
or shall fail to keep and display certificates as to the at- 



LAWS OF 1903. 85 

tendance of employes in evening schools when such at- 
tendance is required bylaw shall, for each offense, forfeit 
and pay to the treasurer of the city or village, or to the 
supervisor of the town in which such child resides, a 
penalty of fifty dollars, the same, when paid, to be added 
to the public school moneys of the city, village or district 
in which such child resides. 



LAWS OF 1903. 

CHAPTER 682. 
In effect August 15. 

An Act to regulate the practice of barbering in the state 
of New York ; to establish a state board of barber 
examiners, and to provide for the sanitary inspection 
of barber shops. 

Sec. 1. Within thirty days after the passage of this 
act the governor shall appoint a board of barber examiners 
for the state of New York. The board shall consist of 
four members, two of whom shall be master barbers and 
two of whom shall be journeymen barbers, and each of 
whom shall serve for a term of five years from the date 
when his appointment shall take effect, except that those 
first appointed shall serve as follows : One for one year, 
one for two years, one for three years, and one for four 
years, from the date when his appointment shall take 
effect respectively, and except in the case of an appoint- 
ment to fill a vacancy. No person shall be eligible to 
appointment as a member of said board unless he shall 
have been continuously for five years last past engaged in 
the occupation of a barber within this state. 

Sec. 2. Said board so appointed, and its successors, 
shall be known by the name ' *■ board of barber examiners 
of the state of New York." Every person so appointed 
to serve on said board shall receive a certificate of his 
appointment from the governor of the state of New York, 
and within ten days after receiving such certificate, shall 



86 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS, 

take, subscribe and file, in the office of the secretary of 
state, the constitutional oath of office. 

Sec. 3. Each member of such board shall receive as 
compensaton the sum of five dollars for each day neces- 
sarily and actually engaged in the performance of his 
duty as a member of said board and three cents for each 
mile necessarily and actually traveled by him in attend- 
ing the meetings of said board, which sum or sums shall 
be paid out of any moneys in the hands of the treasurer 
of said board. 

Sec. 4. The first meeting of said board shall be held 
within thirty days after their appointment as aforesaid, 
at a time and place to be fixed by a majority thereof, who 
shall give suitable notice thereof to all the members of 
said board. At such meeting the board may adopt a 
common seal, and shall elect from among its members a 
president, a secretary and a treasurer. The treasurer 
shall receive all fees paid for licenses or certificates, and 
shall keep a record thereof and of all disbursements of 
said board, in a book to be kept for that purpose. The 
treasurer shall not pay out or disburse any of the moneys 
so received by him except upon the order of the board. 
Before entering upon the performance of his duties the 
treasurer shall file with the state comptroller a bond with 
sufficient sureties to the people of the state of New York, 
in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars, to be approved 
by the state comptroller, conditioned that he will well 
and truly pay over all moneys received by him according 
to law and in compliance with the provisions of this act, 
and that he will otherwise faithfully discharge the duties 
of his office. 

Sec. 5. The board of examiners shall have the power 
to appoint sub-boards of examiners, in such cities and 
villages of this state, as they in their judgment shall 
deem necessary. Said sub-boards shall each consist of 
one master barber and one journeyman barber, and shall 
possess the same qualifications, receive the same compen- 
sation, and have the same power as the said board of 
examiners of the state of New York, while conducting 



LAWS OF 1903. 87 

the examinations hereinafter provided for. Said sub- 
boards shall be subject at all times to the jurisdiction 
and control of the "board of barber examiners of the 
state of New York," and shall serve during the pleasure 
of said state board. The sub-boards shall report the re- 
sult of their examinations, without delay, to the state 
board of examiners, and the latter shall issue certificates 
of qualification to the persons who have qualified in said 
examinations. 

Sec. 6. No person shall hereafter practice the occupa- 
tion of a barber in this state, unless such person shall 
have first received a certificate of qualification from the 
board of examiners provided for in section one of this act. 
For the purpose of examining* applicants for certificates 
of qualification as barbers the said board of examiners 
shall appoint the times and places for holding examina- 
tions. Such appointment shall be made with due regard 
to the convenience of the applicants and the public service. 
Said state board of examiners shall prescribe the mode 
and manner of conducting such examinations and shall 
appoint two of its members, one of whom shall be a 
master barber and the other a journeyman barber to 
conduct such examinations, or said board may designate 
a sub-board to conduct such examinations. Said board 
of examiners is authorized to incur all expenses neces- 
sary to carry out, in a prompt and efficient manner, the 
provisions of this act, and to pay the same out of any 
moneys in the hands of the treasurer of said board, except, 
however, said board of examiners shall not incur any 
expense or obligation for which the state of New York 
shall be liable. 

Sec. 7. Each person on filing his application for exam- 
ination shall pay to the treasurer of the said board of 
examiners the sum of five dollars, which sum shall be 
returned in case said applicant shall fail to pass said. 
examination. Such payment shall constitute a part of 
the fund to pay the compensation and expenses of said 
board. The board shall keep a list of the names and 
places of business of all persons to whom certificates of 



88 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

qualification are granted under the provisions of this act, 
in a book provided for that purpose, with the names ar- 
ranged in alphabetical order, and said book shall be at all 
times open to public inspection. 

Sec. 8. Every person now engaged in the business of a 
barber in this state, shall, within three months after the 
passage of this act, file an affidavit with the secretary of 
said board, setting forth his or her name, place of busi- 
ness, post-office address, the length of time he has been 
engaged in the business of a barber, and pay to the 
treasurer the sum of one dollar, for the certificate provided 
for in this act. 

Sec. 9. Said board shall furnish to each person to 
whom a certificate of registration is issued, a card or 
insignia bearing the seal of the board and the signatures 
of its president and secretary, certifying that the holder 
thereof is entitled to practice the occupation of a barber 
in this state, and it shall be the duty of the holder of 
such card or insignia to post the same in a conspicuous 
place in the shop or place where he is working, where it 
may be readily seen by all persons whom he or she may 
serve. 

Sec. 10. Said board of examiners shall have power to 
revoke any certificate of registration granted by it under 
this act, for (a) conviction of felony ; (b) habitual drunk- 
enness for six months immediately preceding a charge 
duly made ; (c) gross incompetence, or (d) the use of un- 
clean towels, cups or any other unclean utensils used by 
barbers which are liable to spread contagious or infec- 
tious diseases ; provided, that before any certificate shall 
be so revoked the holder thereof shall have notice in 
writing of the charge or charges against him or her, and 
shall at a day and place specified in said notice, at least 
ten days after the service thereof, be given a public hear- 
ing and full opportunity to produce testimony in his or 
her behalf or to confront the witnesses against him or 
her. Any person whose certificate has been so revoked, 
may, after the expiration of three months, apply to have 



LAWS OF 1903. 89 

the same regranted, and the same shall be regranted to 
him or her upon a satisfactory showing that the disquali- 
fication has ceased. 

Sec. 11. The board shall cause to be made and filed 
with the state comptroller, on or before the first day of 
December of each year, a report showing the receipts and 
disbursements of said board and the balance in the hands 
of the treasurer of said board, together with a statement 
of the amount of such balance necessary to be held in 
the hands of the said treasurer to meet the expenses of 
the ensuing year. The comptroller shall thereupon 
make and file in his office an estimate of the amount of 
such balance necessary to be held by said board for the 
purposes hereinbefore stated, which sum may be retained 
by said board for said purposes and the balance of said 
surplus paid by the treasurer of said board into the state 
treasury. 

Sec. 12. Upon the report of a member of the state 
board of examiners duly appointed as herein provided, 
or of a member of a sub-board of examiners in any city 
or village of the state, that a barber shop is in an un- 
sanitary condition, said state board of examiners shall be 
empowered to call upon the state or local board of health, 
to declare such shop a public nuisance, and should the 
proprietor of said shop fail to abolish said nuisance, 
within a period of thirty days after notice to do so by 
either the state or local board of health, the board of 
examiners provided for in this act shall be empowered to 
call upon the aforesaid board of health to abolish the 
aforenamed public nuisance. 

Sec. 13. To shave, trim the beard, or cut the hair of 
any person for hire, or reward, received by the person 
performing such service, or any other person, shall be con- 
strued as practicing the occupation of a barber within 
the meaning of this act. This act shall not in any way 
apply to or affect any person who is now occupied or 
working as a barber in this state, nor any person em- 
ployed in a barber shop or an apprentice, except that a 



90 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

person so employed less than three years prior to the 
passage of this act, shall be considered an apprentice, 
and at the expiration of such three years of such employ- 
shall be subject to the provisions of this act. 

Sec. 14. Any person violating any of the provisions 
of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of 
not less than ten dollars or imprisonment in the county 
jail for a period of not less than thirty days, or by both 
such fine and imprisonment. 



LAWS OF 1895. 

CHAPTEE 823. 

An Act to regulate barbering on Sunday. Accepted 
by the City. 

Sec. 1. Any person who carries on or engages in the 
business of shaving, hair cutting or other work of a 
barber on the first day of the week, shall be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 
shall be fined not more than five dollars ; and upon a 
second conviction for a like offense shall be fined not less 
than ten dollars and not more than twenty-five dollars, 
or be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not 
less than ten days, nor more than twenty-five days, or 
be punishable by both such fine and such imprisonment 
at the discretion of the court or magistrate ; provided, 
that in the city of New York, and the village of Saratoga 
Springs, barber shops or other places where a barber is 
engaged in shaving, hair cutting or other work of a bar- 
ber, may be kept open, and the work of a barber may be 
performed therein until one o'clock of the afternoon of 
the first day of the week. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of 
June, eighteen hundred and ninety-five. 

(Declared constitutional ; People v. Havnor, 149 N. Y. 
195, affirming App. Div.) 



LAWS OF 1904. 91 

LAWS OF 1904. 

CHAPTER 77. 
In effect March 18. 

An Act to require lenders of money on salaries of em- 
ployees to file with employers a copy of agreement 
or assignment under which claim is made. 

Sec. 1. Any person or persons, firm, corporation or 
•company, who shall after the passage of this act, make 
to any employee an advance of money, or loan, on account 
of salary or wages due or to be earned in the future by 
such individual upon an assignment or note covering 
such loans or advances, shall not acquire any right to 
collect or attach the same while in the possession or con- 
trol of the employer, unless within a period of three days 
after the execution of such assignment or notes and the 
making of such loan or loans, the party making such 
loan and taking such assignment shall have filed with the 
employer or employers of the individual so assigning his 
present or prospective salary or wages, a duly authen- 
ticated copy of such agreement or assignment or notes 
under which the claim is made. 

Sec. 2. No action shall be maintained in any of the 
courts of this state, brought by the holder of any such 
contract, assignment or notes, given by an employee for 
moneys loaned on account of salary or wages, in which 
it is sought to charge in any manner the employer or em- 
ployers, unless it shall appear to the satisfaction of the 
court that a copy of isuch agreement, assignment or notes, 
together with a notice of lien, was duly filed with the 
employer or employers of the person making such agree- 
ment, assignment or notes, by the person or persons, cor- 
poration or company making said loans within three days 
after the said loan was made and the said agreement, as- 
signment or notes were given. 



92 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

LAWS OF 1904. 

CHAPTER 432. 
In effect May 1. 

An Act to regulate the keeping of employment agencies 
in cities of the first and second class where fees are 
charged for procuring employment or situation. 

Definitions. — 

Sec. 1. The term person when used in this act, means 
and includes any individual, company, association, or cor- 
poration, or their agents, aud the term employment agency 
means and includes the business of keeping an intelligence 
office, employment bureau, or other agency or office for pro- 
curing work or employment for persons seeking employ- 
ment where a fee of privilege is exacted, charged or 
received directly or indirectly for procuring or assisting to 
procure employment, work, or a situation of any kind, or 
for procuring or providing help for any person, whether 
such fee is collected from the applicant for employment or 
the applicant for help, excepting agencies for procuring 
employment for school-teachers exclusively. The term 
fee as used in this act means money or a written promise 
to pay money. 

License.— 

Sec. 2. No person shall open, keep or carry on any 
such employment agency in the cities of the first and 
second class, unless every such person shall procure a 
license therefor from the mayor of the city in which such 
person intends to conduct such agency. Any person who 
shall open or conduct such an employment agency with- 
out first procuring said license shall be punishable by a 
fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, or, on 
failure to pay such fine, by imprisonment not exceeding 
thirty days. Such license shall be granted upon the pay- 
ment to said mayor of a fee of twenty-five dollars an- 
nually for such employment agencies in cities of the first 



LAWS OF 1904. 93 

and second class. Every license shall contain the name 
of the person licensed, a designation of the city, street and 
number of the house in which the person licensed is 
authorized to carry on the said employment agency, and 
the number and date of such license. Such license shall 
not be valid to protect any other than the person to whom 
it is issued, or anyplace other than that designated in the 
license, unless consent is obtained from the mayor. No 
such agency shall be located in rooms used for living pur- 
poses, where boarders or lodgers are kept, or on premises 
where intoxicating liquors are sold, excepting cafes and 
restaurants in office buildings. If said licensed person 
shall conduct a lodging house for the unemployed, sepa- 
rate and apart from such agency, it shall be so designa- 
ted in the license. The application for such license shall 
be filed not less than one month prior to the granting of 
said license and shall be accompanied by the affidavits of 
two persons who have known the applicant or the chief 
officers thereof , if a corporation for five years stating that 
the said applicant is a person of good moral character. 
The license shall run to the first Tuesday of May next 
ensuing the date thereof and no longer unless sooner 
revoked by the mayor. 

Bond.— 

Sec. 3. The mayor of said city shall require such per- 
son to file with his application for a license a bond in due 
form to the people of the said city in the penal sum of one 
thousand dollars in cities of the first and second class, 
with two or more sufficient sureties, and conditioned that 
the obligor will not violate any of the duties, terms, con- 
ditions, provisions or requirements of this act. . If any 
person shall be aggrieved by the misconduct of any such 
licensed person, and shall recover judgment against him 
therefor, such person may, after the return unsatisfied, 
either in whole or in part, of any execution issued upon 
said judgment, maintain, an action in his own name upon 
the bond of said employment agent in any court having 
jurisdiction of the amount claimed, provided such court 
shall, upon application made for the purpose, grant such 
leave to prosecute. 



9i LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Register ; References.— 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of every such licensed 
person to keep a register, approved by the mayor, in which 
shall be entered, in the English language, the date of 
every application for employment ; the name and ad- 
dress of the applicant ; the amount of the fee received, and 
whenever possible, the names and addresses of former 
employers or persons to whom such applicant is known. 
Such licensed person shall also enter in a separate 
register approved by the mayor in the English language, 
the name and address of every applicant for help, date of 
such application, the kind of help requested, the names 
of the persons sent, with the designation of the one em- 
ployed, the amount of the fee received and the rate of 
wages agreed upon. The aforesaid registers of ap- 
plicants for employment and for help shall be open 
during office hours to inspection by the mayor. No such 
licensed person, his agent or employees, shall make any 
false entry in such registers. It shall be the duty of 
every licensed person, whenever possible, to communicate 
orally or in writing with at least one of the persons 
mentioned as references for every applicant for work in 
private families, or employed in a fiduciary capacity, and 
the result of such investigation shall be kept on file in 
such agency. 

Fees ; Receipts.— 

Sec. 5. The fees charged applicants for employment 
as lumbermen, agricultural hands, coachmen, grooms, 
hostlers, seamtresses, cooks, waiters, waitresses, scrub- 
women, laundresses, maids, nurses (except professional) 
and all domestics and servants, unskilled workers and 
general laborers, shall not in any case exceed ten per 
centum of the first month's wages, and for all other ap- 
plicants for employment, shall not exceed the amount of 
the first week's wages or salary or five per centum of the 
first year's salary. In case the applicant shall not accept 
or obtain help or employment, through such agency, 
then such licensed person shall on demand, repay the 
full amount of the said fee, allowing five da}^s time to 



LAWS OF 1904. 95 

determine the fact of the applicant's failure to obtain 
help or employment ; except when it appears that the 
said licensed person has in good faith, attempted to pro- 
cure help or employment for said applicant, then he shall 
be entitled to retain of such fee paid, an amount not exceed 
ing fifty cents. If an employee furnished fails to remain 
one week in the situation, a new employee shall be fur- 
nished or three- fifths of the fee returned, within four days 
of demand ; if the employee is discharged within one week 
without said applicant's fault another position shall be 
furnished or three-fifths of the fee returned. Failure of 
said applicant for help to notify said licensed person that 
such help has been obtained through means other than 
said agency shall entitle said licensed person to retain or 
or collect three-fifths of said fee. It shall be the duty of 
such licensed person to give to every applicant for employ- 
ment from whom a fee shall be received a receipt in which 
shall be stated, the name of the said applicant, the date and 
amount of the fee, and the purpose for which it is paid, 
and to every applicant for help a receipt stating the 
name and address of said applicant, the date and amount 
of the fee, and the kind of help to be provided. Every 
such receipt shall have printed on the back thereof a copy 
of this section in the English language and in languages 
which persons commonly doing business with such office 
can understand. No such licensed person shall receive 
or accept any valuable thing or gift as a fee or in lieu 
thereof, and no fee shall be accepted by such licensed 
person for any other purpose except as herein provided. 
No such licensed person shall divide fees with contractors 
or other employers to whom applicants for employment 
are sent. Every such licensed person shall give to each 
applicant for employment a card containing the name and 
address of such employment agency and the written 
name and address of the person to whom the applicant is 
sent for employment. Every such licensed person shall 
post in a conspicuous place in each room of such agency 
a plain and legible copy of this act, which shall be printed 
in languages, which persons commonly doing business 
with such office can understand. 



96 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Employment Contract.— 

Sec. 6. No such person shall induce or attempt to in- 
duce any employee to leave his employment with a view 
of obtaining other employment through such agency. 
Whenever such licensed person or any other acting for 
him, agrees to send one or more persons to work as con- 
tract laborers in any one place outside the city in which 
such agency is located, the said licensed person shall file 
with the mayor within five days after the contract is 
made, a statement containing the following items ; name 
and address of the employer, name and address of the 
employee ; nature of the work to be performed, hours of 
labor ; wages offered, designation of the persons employed, 
and terms of transportation. A duplicate copy of this 
statement shall be given to the applicant for employment 
in a language which he is able to understand. 

Character of Employer ; Fraud. — 

Sec. 7. No such licensed person shall send or cause to 
be sent any female help as servants or inmates to any 
questionable place, or place of bad repute, house of ill fame, 
or assignation house, or to any house or place of am- 
usement kept for immoral purposes, the character of 
which such licensed person could have ascertained upon 
reasonable inquiry. No such licensed person shall know- 
ingly permit questionable, character or procurers to fre- 
quent such agency. No such licensed person shall publish 
or cause to be published any false or fraudulent notice or 
advertisement ; all advertisements of such employment 
agency by means cards, circulars, or signs and in news- 
papers and other publications, and all letterheads, re- 
ceipts, and blanks shall contain the name and address of 
such employment agency and no such licensed person 
shall give any false information, or make any false 
promise concerning employment to any applicant who 
shall register for employment or help. 

Enforcement. — 

Sec. 8. In cities of the first class the enforcement of 
this act shall be entrusted to a commissioner to be known 
as a commissioner of licenses, who shall be appointed by 






LAWS OF 1904. 97 

the mayor, and whose salary, together with those of in- 
spectors to he appointed by him, shall he fixed by the board 
of estimate and apportionment. He shall appoint inspec- 
tors who shall make at least bimonthly visits to every snch 
agency excepting agencies exclusively for procuring ex- 
ecutive, clerical, and technical positions for men only, 
which shall be inspected on complaint made to said com- 
missioner. Such inspectors shall see that all the provi- 
sions of this act are complied with, and shall have no other 
duties. Complaints against any such licensed person 
shall be made orally or in writing to the commissioner 
and notice of such complaints shall be made orally or 
otherwise as the commissioner may direct to said licensed 
person and upon such complaint a hearing shall be had 
before him within three days. Such commissioner shall 
keep a record of all such complaints and hearings. The 
said commissioner shall revoke any license for any good 
cause shown, but reasonable opportunity shall be given 
said licensed person to defend himself. Whenever for any 
cause such license is revoked, said commissioner shall not 
issue another license to said licensed person or his rep- 
resentative. In cities of the second class the duties of 
said commissioner may be performed by the mayor, or 
an officer appointed by him. Any violation of the pro- 
visions of this act shall constitute a misdemeanor punish- 
able by a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty 
dollars or imprisonment for not more than one year, ex- 
cept as provided in section two, and the commissioner 
shall institute criminal proceedings for its enforcement 
before any court of competent jurisdiction. 

Repealing.— 

Sec. 9. All acts and parts of acts relating to employ- 
ment agencies in cities of the first and second class, 
inconsistent with this act, are hereby repealed, except 
the provisions of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety seven known as the 
Labor Law. 



PART II. 



LABOR DECISIONS SUMMARIZED. 



(For alphabetical list of the cases summarized, see Table of Cases 
at the beginning of the book.) 



99 



DIGEST OF DECISIONS IN RELATION TO 

LABOR 

GENERAL. 

1. Labor Organizations— Rights of Workingmen— Principles 
of Law.— 

It is not the duty of one man to work for another 
unless he has agreed to, and if he has so agreed, but for 
no fixed period, either may end the contract whenever he 
chooses. The one may work, or refuse to work, at will, 
and the other may hire or discharge at will. The terms 
of employment are subject to mutual agreement, with- 
out let or hindrance from any one. If the terms do not 
suit, or the employer does not please, the right to quit is 
absolute, and no one may demand a reason therefor. 
Whatever one man may do alone, he may do in combina- 
tion with others, provided they have no unlawful object 
in view. Mere numbers do not ordinarily affect the 
quality of the act. Workingmen have the right to or- 
ganize for the purpose of securing higher wages, shorter 
hours of labor or improving their relations with em- 
ployers. They have the right to strike ; that is, to cease 
working in a body by pre-arrangement until a grievance 
is redressed, provided the object is not to gratify malice 
or inflict injury upon others, but to secure better terms 
of employment for themselves. A peaceable and orderly 
strike, not to harm others, but to improve their own 
condition, is not in violation of law. 

The right of one man to refuse to work for another on 
any ground that he may regard as sufficient, and the 
employer has no right to demand reason for it. There is 
no legal objection to the employee's giving a reason, if 
he has one, and the fact that the reason given is, that 
he refuses to work with another who is not a member of 

101 



102 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

his organization, whether stated to his employer or not, 
does not affect his right to stop work, nor does it give a 
cause of action to the workman to whom he objects be- 
cause the employer sees fit to discharge the man objected 
to rather than lose the services of the objector. 

The same rule applies to a body of men who, having 
organized for purposes deemed beneficial to themselves, 
refuse to work. The principles quoted above recognize 
the legal right of members of an organization to strike, 
that is, to cease working in a body by pre-arrangement 
until a grievance is redressed, and they enumerate some 
things that may be treated as the subject of a grievance, 
namely, the desire to obtain higher wages, shorter hours 
of labor or improved relations with their employers, 
but this enumeration does not purport to cover all the 
grounds which will lawfully justify members of an or- 
ganization refusing, in a body and by pre-arrangement, 
to work. The enumeration is illustrative rather than 
comprehensive, for the object of such an organization is 
to benefit all its members, and it is their right to strike, 
if need be, in order to secure any lawful benefit to the 
several members of the organization, as, for instance, to 
secure the re-employment of a member they regard as 
having been improperly discharged, and to secure from 
an employer of a number of them employment for other 
members of their organization who may be out of em- 
ployment, although the effect will be to cause the dis- 
charge of other employees who are not members. 

And whenever the courts can see that a refusal of 
members of an organization to work with non-members 
may be in the interest of the several members, it will not 
assume, in the absence of a finding to the contrary, that 
the object of such refusal was solely to gratify malice 
and to inflict injury upon such non-members. 

A labor organization is endowed with precisely the 
same legal right as is an individual to threaten to do 
that which it may lawfully do. 

Our laws recognize the absolute freedom of the indi- 
vidual to work for whom he chooses, with whom he 
chooses, and to make any contract upon the subject that 
he chooses. There is the same freedom to organize, in 



GENERAL DECISIONS 103 

an association with others of his craft, to further their 
common interests as workingmen, with respect to their 
wages, to their hours of labor, or to matters affecting 
their health and safety. They are free to secure the 
furtherance of their common interests in every way, 
which is not within the prohibition of some statute, or 
which does not involve the commission of illegal acts. 
The struggle on the part of individuals to prefer them- 
selves, and to prevent the work which they are fitted to 
do from being given to others, may be keen, and may 
have unhappy results in individual cases ; but the law is 
not concerned with such results, when not caused by 
illegal means or acts. 1902, 170 N. Y., 315. Affirming 
App. Div. 

2. Organizations of Workingmen, When Legal, Etc.— 

The organization, or the co-operation, of workingmen 
is not against any public policy, and has the sanction of 
the law, when it is for such legitimate purposes as that 
of obtaining an advance in the rate of wages or compen- 
sation, or of maintaining such rate. 

If the purpose of an organization or combination of 
workingmen be to hamper, or to restrict, that freedom, 
and, through contracts or arrangements with employers, 
to coerce other workingmen to become members of the 
organization and to come under its rules and conditions, 
under the penalty of the loss of their position, and of de- 
privation of employment, then that purpose is unlawful. 

The rights of workmen are conceded ; but the exercise 
of free will and freedom of action, within the limits of 
the law, is also secured equally to the masters. The in- 
tention of the law is, at present, to allow either of them 
to follow the dictates of their own will, with respect to 
their own actions, and their own property, and either 
has a right to study to promote his own advantage, or 
to combine with others to promote their mutual advan- 
tage. 1897, 152 N. Y., 33. Affirming Hun. 

3. Reinstatement of an Expelled Member of a Union, etc. — 
The fact that if a suspended member of a labor organ- 
ization is denied reinstatement, the constitution and by- 



104 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

laws provide that he may appeal to various courts or tri- 
bunals within the association, and that no member shall 
be entitled to bring any civil action or legal proceeding 
until he shall have exhausted all the remedies by such 
appeals, does not debar him from any remedy or relief in 
the courts of this state, in a case where the obstacles to 
the prosecution of an appeal amount to almost a denial 
of justice, and where, if prosecuted, no relief would 
result therefrom. 

When expelled from the union without notice and 
without an opportunity to be heard in his own defense as 
required by the constitution of the association, it will be 
unreasonable to so construe such constitution as to com- 
pel the expelled member to seek redress for such wrong 
under and by virtue of its provisions. 1904, 94 App. 
Div., 71. 

4. Treasurer of Unincorporated Labor Association, Liable.— 

The treasurer of an unincorporated labor association 
consisting of more than seven members, in an action 
brought to recoveT for money loaned to such association, 
where the answer by not denying, admits the allegation 
of the complaint, as to such association carrying on busi- 
ness, etc., held liable. 1904, 43 Misc., 612. 



LABOR LAW. 

( Section 3. ) 

5. That Part of Section 3 of the Labor Law Relating to State 
or Municipal Employees is Constitutional.— 

There is no express or implied restriction to be found 
in the Constitution upon the power of the legislature to 
fix and declare the rate of compensation to be paid for 
labor or services performed upon the public works of the 
state. 

The legislature undertakes to provide for the payment 
of not less than the prevailing rate of wages, not only to 
the direct employees of the state, but also to its indirect 
emplo} r ees working in its several subdivisions— the cities, 
counties, towns and villages. In the administration of 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 105 

the affairs of those subdivisions, as well as in those of 
the state at large, the legislature is unrestrained unless 
by express provisions of the Constitution. The authority 
of the state is supreme in every part of it, and in all of 
the public undertakings the state is the proprietor. For 
convenience of local administration the state has been 
divided into municipalities, in each of which there may 
be found local officers exercising a certain measure of 
authority, but in that which they do they are but the 
agents of the state, without power to do a single act 
beyond the boundary set by the state acting through its 
legislature. Thus all these agencies and employees in 
the several municipalities are doing the work of the 
state, which is the sovereign and master. 

Section 3 of the Labor Law does not attempt to fix in 
dollars and cents the wages to be paid to those employed 
on state or municipal work, but provides that such 
wages " shall not be less than the prevailing rate for a 
day's work in the same trade or occupation in the local- 
ity." The statute, therefore, made it the duty of the 
person charged with employing a person to ascertain the 
prevailing rate of wages for similar services in the city, 
and them to fix the compensation at that amount, or a 
still greater one, and by the section following the legis- 
lature undertook to assure such action by the officials 
commanded to fix wages at not less than the prevailing 
rate by providing that an official violating the provisions 
of the act would be guilty of malfeasance in office, and be 
suspended or removed. 

When a servant sues the master for wages, alleging 
that he worked by the day for more than six years, and 
was paid for each day's work at the rate of three dollars 
per day, and makes no claim or allegation that he ever 
asked any more, or ever objected on the ground that he 
had not been paid enough, or that he reserved the right 
to demand more in the future, or that there was fraud 
or mistake in the dealings, the legal conclusion from the 
facts must be that there was a full settlement between 
the parties or an agreement as to the rate of wages or a 
waiver of any other claim. 

There can be no sound distinction in the application of 



106 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the statute to the direct and immediate employees of a 
city and the case of an independent contractor who has 
not observed the law. 1904, 177 N. Y., 271. Affirming 
A pp. Div. 

6. Contract Containing Unconstitutional Provisions of the 

Labor Law, is Not Void.— 

The incorporation of the provisions of the Labor Law 
in a contract, which provisions are, subsequently to the 
making of the contract, declared unconstitutional, and it 
not appearing that the provisions were inserted in the 
contract in bad faith or on the belief that the law was in- 
valid, does not make the contract void, but the contractor 
may violate those provisions and recover his pay, not on 
a quantum meruit, the value of the work done, but the 
contract price. The contract does not depend upon the 
Labor Law for its consideration ; and v illegal conditions of 
a contract may be waived. 

Hence, it is not within the power of a taxpayer to can- 
cel or annul a contract which commissioners determined 
to continue in force. 1903, 176 N. Y., 430. Affirming 
App. Div. 

7. Section 3 Does not Apply to Uniform Members of Fire De- 

partment. — 

Section 3 of the Labor Law refers only to an employee 
as defined in Section 2, that is, "a mechanic, working- 
man or laborer who works for another for hire." The 
word "contract " as used in three of the sentences in the 
section indicates clearly that the section relates to cases 
where a contract is made with a state or municipal cor- 
poration, and under it, mechanics, workingmen or 
laborers are employed by the contractor or any sub-con- 
tractors, and not to persons who hold offices or positions 
in the public service. 

The Legislature did not intend to include the uni- 
formed members of a fire department within the act 
when in the definition of the second section it limited its 
application to a mechanic, workingman or laborer, "who 
works for another for hire." The word "hire " evidently 
does not relate to public officers or others holding posi- 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 107 

tions under the city. 1903, 78 App. Div., 460. Affirmed 
without opinion, 175 N. Y., 470. 

8. Application of Section 3 to Street Cleaning Department.— 

The Labor Law by its express terms is made applicable 
to those who should be employed by the state or a muni- 
cipal corporation, and applies to the street cleaning de- 
partment, which is composed of either workingmen or 
laborers within the wording of the statute. 1901, GO 
App. Div., 250. Affirmed, 168 N. Y., 117. 

9. The term " Public Work " in Section 3 of the Labor Law.— 
That part of Section 3 of the Labor Law beginning, 

"The wages for such public work," refers to work done 
by a municipal corporation itself and also to work done 
by a contractor for a municipal corporation. 1901, 52 
App. Div., 485. Affirmed without opinion, 166 N. Y., 588. 

10. An employee has a vested right to the prevailing 
rate of wages unaffected by a later law. 1901, 52 App. 
Div., 358. Affirmed without opinion, 166 N. Y., 587. 

11. A citizen who is a taxpayer as well, who brings an 
action to restrain illegal acts and waste on the part of 
municipal officers, may avail himself of any illegal acts, 
whether they arise under the Labor Law or any other 
statute, for the purposes of maintaining his action. 

Where the complaint does not allege that the plaintiff 
is a citizen, and for this reason may fail to state a cause 
of action under the Labor Law, but if no cause of action 
is alleged, the allegation of a cause of action under the 
Labor Law may be treated as surplusage. 1901, 166 N. 
Y., 159. Reversing App. Div. 

12. That Part of Section 3 which Deprives a Contractor of 
Compensation, because he has not paid the Prevailing 
Rate of Wages, Unconstitutional.— 

Where a contractor has performed a contract on his 
part with a municipality and obtained a certificate of 
performance required by the contract, he is not prohibited 
from recovering therefor by the provisions of Section 3 



108 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of the Labor Law because he has not paid the prevailing 
rate of wages to all of his employees, as said provisions 
of the Labor Law are unconstitutional ; and the statute 
being inserted in the contract is of no importance. 

First. Because in its actual operation it permits and 
requires the expenditure of the money of the city or that 
of the local property owner for other than city purposes. 

Second. Because it invades rights and liberty and 
property in that it denies to the city and the contractor 
the right to agree with their employees upon the measure 
of their compensation, and compels them in all cases to 
pay an arbitrary and uniform rate which is expressed in 
vague language, difficult to define or ascertain, and sub- 
ject to constant change from artificial causes. 

Third. Because it virtually confiscates all property 
rights of the contractor under his contract for breach of 
his engagement to obey the statute, and it attempts to 
make acts and omissions penal, which, in themselves, 
are innocent and harmless. It, in effect, imposes a pen- 
alty upon the exercise by the city or by the contractor of 
the right to agree with their employees upon the terms 
and conditions of the employment. 1901, 166 N. Y., 1. 
Affirming App. Div. 

13. That Part of Section 3 Which Compels the Insertion of 
its Provisions in a Contract, Unconstitutional.— 

The Labor Law, in so far as it compels the insertion in 
a contract, of its provisions that the contract be void 
unless the rate of wages specified by Section 3 should be 
paid, etc., is unconstitutional, because the Legislature 
has no power to prescribe, and the insertion of any such 
requirement in the contract which unduly increases the 
price to be paid for the work, operates as a waste of 
public money, and the result is to take the property of 
tax payers who are finally called upon to bear the ex- 
pense without due process of law, and held that a tax- 
payer's action brought to prevent waste, etc., could be 
maintained. 1901, 58 App. Div., 534. 

14. Section 3 Restricts " Public Work " only.— 

The Labor Law (Section 3) has confined the restrictions 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 109 

to that class of employment which is commonly known 
as " public work/' of which the State has exclusive con- 
trol. The state does not exclude itself from the general 
market in its purchases or contracts for the purchase of 
any article whatever. It has plainly declared the limit- 
ation as to hours of labor in " public work," but it may 
purchase or contract for a manufactured article for pub- 
lic work or consumption wherever it can for the lowest 
price irrespective of how many hours each day any man 
labored in the production of the article needed. 1901, 
57 App. Div., 310. 

15. A contract between a municipality and a contrac- 
tor will not be declared void by certiorari for a violation 
of section 3, Labor Law, by paying laborers less than the 
prevailing rate of wages and having them work more 
than eight hours a day. The review of such action is not 
within the province of that remedy. 1900, 53 App. Div., 
1. (See 61 App. Div., 223.) 

16. A laborer employed on a waterworks system of a 
city, working ten hours per day, where necessary for a 
new pump to be placed in position so as to require an ex- 
tra force of men to be employed and required to work ten 
hours each day, although a technical violation of the 
Labor Law, unless the circumstances bring it within the 
exception to the inhibition of the statute, "hi cases of 
extraordinary emergency caused by tire, flood or danger 
to life or property " and permits the hours of labor to be 
extended : Held, that the Statute does not require that 
laborers in every instance and in all circumstances shall 
be employed by the day or that city officials should em- 
ploy men by the day when but a few hours of service are 
necessary, and that the emergency was such that the 
laborer has no just cause of complaint for being required 
to work more than eight hours per day. 1901, 52 App. 
Div., 36. 

17. Employee, Hired by Day, cannot Recover for Overtime 

under Section 3.— 

An employer is not liable under the Labor Law to an 
employee hired by the day for labor beyond the statutory 
time unless it is provided for in the contract of employ- 



110 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

merit and unless the contract of employment contains by 
fair and reasonable construction, a stipulation for extra 
pay for overtime, an employee cannot recover extra com- 
pensation therefor. 1900, 32 Misc., 683. 

{Section 8.) 

18. " Wages," Under Section 8, Labor Law.— 

A system of distribution of earnings for employees of a 
manufacturer or from whose assets have passed to a re- 
ceiver being simply a benevolent plan proposed or adopted 
by the manufacturer and within his power and discretion 
to carry it out or not, entitles the employees to claim pre- 
ference under section 8 of the Labor Law, which is purely 
a statutory preference which could not be enlarged by any 
agreement even if the agreement could be so construed 
that the employees contributed to the business the sums 
actually due them for wages, as by so doing they would 
waive their statutory right to preference, and the amounts 
so contributed would then lose their character as wages 
and would become mere claims for money loaned, and the 
most important word in the statute is the word " wages," 
not salaries nor earnings nor compensation. In order to 
give the preference provided by the statute the claim must 
be for wages in the ordinary sense of that term : and, 
therefore, those having such claims have no legal right to 
any of the funds that passed into the hands of the re- 
ceiver. 1902, 70 App. Div., 517. 

19. "Wages" and "Employees" Under Section 8, Labor 

Law — 

A person employed to make sales of merchandise, of 
property manufactured by a corporation, are " em- 
ployees," and their compensation earned is wages, 
whether such persons are employed by the day or month 
or year, and whether the compensation is denominated 
salary or wages in the contract of employment. The 
Labor Law (Section 8) gives to employees of a corporation 
protection for the payment of their wages. A salesman 
who is at all times subject to the direction and control of 
his employer, who is entitled to command his entire time, 
is an employee, and commissions earned by him are to be 






LABOR LAW DECISIONS. HI 

treated as wages, and upon dissolution of the firm by 
which he is employed, and appointment of a receiver, the 
employee's claim for his commissions earned is a preferred 
claim, and the receiver may be compelled to pay same as 
such. 1898, 35 App. Div., 243. 

\ 

20, Bookkeepers cannot Claim Preference under Section 8.— 

Section 2 of the Labor Law provides that the term 
" employee " means a " mechanic, workingman or laborer 
who works for another for hire.'' 

The Century Dictionary defines a laborer as one, ' ' who 
labors, or works with mind or body, or both, but, specifi- 
cally, one who is engaged in some toilsome physical occu- 
pation, or in a more restricted sense, one who performs 
work requiring little skill or special training as distin- 
guished from a skilled workman ; or one engaged espe- 
cially in husbandry." The same dictionary defines " work- 
ingman "as "a laboring man, or one who earns his living 
by manual labor." 

The Labor Law specifically restricts the preference to 
mechanics, workingmen and laborers, and under that 
law, bookkeepers cannot claim a preference. 1899, 30 
Misc., 48. 

{Section H.) 

21. Section 14 Unconstitutional and no Defense for Non-Pay- 

ment of a State or Municipal Contract.— 

The Labor Law (Section 14) which provides that "all 
stone of* any description, except paving blocks and 
crushed stone, used in state or municipal works within 
this state, or which is to be worked, dressed or carved 
for such use, shall be so worked, dressed or carved within 
the boundaries of this state. A clause shall be inserted 
in all specifications or contracts hereafter awarded by 
state, county or municipal authorities authorizing or re- 
quiring the use of worked, dressed or carved stone therein, 
except paving blocks and crushed stone, to the effect that 
all such stone shall be worked, dressed or carved for such 
use as required by this Act. If any contractor within 
this state shall violate any provisions of this Act, the 
state or such municipal corporation shall revoke said con- 



112 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tract, and shall be discharged from any liability to any 
such contractor by reason of said contract." 

Held, that where it is admitted that the work specified 
in the contract is actually performed and the sum claimed 
has been earned and is due, and the only obstacle to pay- 
ment is found to be the fact that a granite sewer basin was 
purchased therefore which was cut, carved and dressed 
without the state, it constitutes no defense to the claim 
since the Legislature had no power to enact the statute 
invoked for the same reasons stated in Decision 12 
(which see), and the enactment requiring all stone for 
use in municipal work to be cut, carved or dressed within 
this state is subject to the same objections. 

The statute is void also for the further reason that it 
conflicts with the commerce clause of the Federal Con- 
stitution, and it is a regulation of commerce between 
the states which the Legislature had no power to make. 
Under the constitution of the United States, business or 
commercial transactions cannot be hampered or circum- 
scribed by state boundary lines, and that is the effect of 
the statute in question. 

The contractor's agreement rests upon the statute and 
must fall with it. The statute and the contract made 
pursuant to its command were intended to accomplish 
the same purpose and both must fall together, and, held, 
that a peremptory writ of mandamus to compel delivery 
of a warrant for the payment of amount earned under 
the contract be granted. 1901, 166 N. Y., 144. Affirming 

App. Div. 

{Section 18.) 

22. Insufficiency of Scaffolds— Section 18, Labor Law—Risks 
and Liability.— 

The Labor Law imposes a liability upon an employer 
for breach of duty in failing to comply with that act, and 
where an employer's liability is established, the burden 
of showing that the employee assumed the risks of the 
insufficiency of a scaffold, rest upon the employer. 

An employee has the right to assume that the employer 
has performed the duties imposed upon him by law, or, if 
not, that he would be notified. 

The risks of the service a servant assumes in entering 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 113 

the employment of a master, are those only which occur 
after the due performance by the employer of those 
duties which the law enjoins upon him. 1904, 179 N. Y., 

: Affirming App. Div. 
When Employees Assume the Risks of Employment.— 
Where an employer and employee together erect an 
appliance and both know the character of the appliance 
so erected, it is for the jury to say whether or not it was 
not one of the obvious risks of the employment which 
was part of the contract of hiring, which the employee 
assumed, because if he did not assume the obvious risks 
of hiring then an employer would be insurer. The em- 
ployee must not go into a business with obvious risks if 
lie does not want to assume them. It is for the jury to 
consider whether whatever risks there were he did not 
see them. The ordinary rule that as between employer 
and employee assume an obvious risk in doing the work 
which he is employed to do, applies. 1901, 77 App. Div., 
361. Affirmed without opinion, 177 N. Y., 569. 

24. Effect of Labor Law as to Responsibility of Employer for 

safe Scaffolding. — 

Before the passage of the Labor Law, it had been held 
that the falling of a scaffold without any apparent cause 
was prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of the 
person bound to provide it ; 

Sections 18 and 19 of the Labor Law enlarged the duty 
of the master or employer and extended it to responsi- 
bility for the safety of the scaffold itself, and thus for the 
want of care in the details of its construction. 

Section 18 is a positive prohibition laid upon the master 
without exception upon account of his ignorance or the 
carelessness of his servants. 1900, 161 N. Y., 553. Affirm- 
ing App. Div. 

25. The Breaking of a Plank in Scaffold, Unexplained, Makes 

Prima Facie Case of Negligence of Employer.— 

Section 18 of the Labor Law imposes upon the master 

the duty of furnishing safe scaffolding for the use of his 

servants, and section 19 provides that such scaffolding 

shall be so constructed as to bear four times the maxi- 
8 



114 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

mum weight required to be placed thereon when in use. 
And where the facts clearly establish a failure to comply 
with the statutory requirements, and that such failure 
could have been avoided by the exercise of ordinary care 
in the inspection of the material which proved defective, 
and prima facie it was so constructed as to bear less than 
one-fourth the weight required by section 19, its fall, in 
the absence of evidence of other producing cause, points 
to the omission of the duty enjoined by the statute upon 
the employer to the employee in its construction with 
that reasonable certainty which usually tends to produce 
conviction in the mind in tracing events back to their 
causes and thus creates a presumption. It is circum- 
stantial evidence, and if it does convince the jury, it jus- 
tifies their verdict, and a judgment in favor of the em- 
ployee upon the verdict will be sustained. 1904, 97 App. 
Div., 1. 

26. An Action may be Maintained under the Labor Law 

though Facts to bring it within Employers' Liability 
Act are not Alleged. 

Where the proof shows affirmatively that the employee 
took no part in the nailing of the center brace supporting 
a scaffolding which gave way, causing him to fall to the 
ground and receive serious injuries, and he took no part 
in the construction of the staging aside from helping to 
lay one plank on the end of the platform and did not 
know the manner of its construction, the jury may prop- 
erly have found that the breaking down of the staging 
was due to its improper and unsafe construction. Al- 
though the complaint does not allege facts to bring the 
case within the Employer's Liability Act, but alleges facts 
to authorize a recovery within section 18 of the Labor 
Law, and the facts proved were sufficient to make a prima 
facie case, the action may be sustained. 1904, 94 App. 
Div., 177. 

27. Labor Law (Section 18) does not render all Employers 

using Scaffolding for any purpose Liable for injuries Re- 
ceived. 

Section 18 of the Labor Law is intended to render all 
persons using scaffolding for any purpose liable under 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 115 

its provisions, but its operation is limited to scaffolds 
which are used in the erection, repairing, altering or 
painting of a h6use, building or structure, and covers all 
kinds of work done by the artisans engaged in house 
building or repairing and not intended that persons who 
may be incidentally employed about a building should be 
embraced within the pi\>visions of the law. 

A boiler itself is not a building or house, and where 
there is no alteration of the building or structure in any 
way but simply the removal of an appliance which had 
been put upon the ground without in any way interfer- 
ing with the structure itself or changing or altering its 
condition, and the boiler is in no sense a portion of the 
building and the master has provided competent foremen 
and workmen, the master or employer is not liable to the 
servant or employee for injuries sustained. 1904, 94 App. 
Div., 149. 

28. Where an Accident is due to Fault of Employees, the Em- 
ployers are not Liable under the Labor Law. — 

Where an accident is caused by the improper construc- 
tion of a scaffold or to the use to which it is put or the selec- 
tion of material by the employee and his fellow-workmen, 
they and not the employers are responsible ; and it is only 
the person who furnishes or erects or causes to be fur- 
nished or erected an unsafe or unsuitable or improper 
scaffold to or for his employees, who is guilty of a viola- 
tion of sections IS- 19 of the Labor Law. 

Where the alteration is of such a character as requires 
the use of scaffolding to effect it, it is within the terms 
of the statute and the necessity arises for the protection 
of life and limb which is the primary purpose to be ac- 
complished. 

The Labor Law applies to such a case and the first ques- 
tion under section 18 is whether the employer furnished 
or erected or caused to be furnished or erected for the 
performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, lad- 
ders or other mechanical contrivances which are unsafe, 
unsuitable or improper and which are not so constructed, 
placed and operated as to give proper protection to the 
life and limb of a person so employed or engaged. 



116 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

But where employees fail to select proper material or 
to sufficiently strengthen the scaffold and the accident is 
caused, not by the failure of the employers to perform 
any duty devolving upon them to perform, or which 
they had assumed to perform, and the workmen did the 
work improperly which they were instructed to do, no 
recovery can be had against the employers. 190±, 92 App. 
Div., 223. 

29. Employer not Liable under Labor Law (Section 18) where 

injured Employee erects Scaffold, etc.— 

Where a scaffold upon which work is being done, does 
not comply with section 18 of the Labor Law, but is con- 
structed by the workmen who are to work upon it, and in 
their charge and under their control, is not within the 
provision of the act referred to so as to charge the em- 
ployer with negligence for want of compliance with the 
statute. 1904, 92 App. Div., 153. 

30. Section 18, Labor Law; Employer's Liability Act; Notice 

of Injury; Etc.— 

The requirement of the Employer's Liability Act that 
notice shall be given in all such actions as are brought 
under it does not abrogate the right of action but merely 
affects the remedy. It does not take away any common 
law right of action nor destroy the right of action for 
violation of section 18 of the Labor Law. But the provis- 
ion for notice is in the nature of a statute of limitations 
which affects the remedy without destroying the right. 
1903. 83 App. Div., 351. 

31. Master not Liable under Labor Law, Section 18, if Appli- 

ance Furnished is Safe and Injury the Fault of Fel- 
low Servants. 

Section 18 of the Labor Law does not have the effect 
that an employer would be liable for mismanagement or 
improper operation of the apparatus if the jury find it to 
be improper notwithstanding the employer might have 
furnished a properly constructed and properly placed 
apparatus which could be operated in safety ; or a master 
be liable for the negligence of fellow-servants of an in- 
jured employee when he had furnished an appliance 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 117 

which conformed to all the requirements of the Labor 
Law and which could have been operated in safety. 

The duty devolved upon a master by that statute (so 
far as operation is concerned) is to furnish an appliance 
which shall be so constructed and so placed and which 
may be so operated as to render it safe ; one which, when 
in use and for the purposes for which it is used, is 
adequate to the safe performance of that work. 1903, 82 
App. Div., 25L 

32. Master not Liable to Employee for Injuries where Dan- 
ger is Obvious. 

Where a hod-carrier started up a plank with a hod 
filled with brick and while going up the plank his hod 
struck against one of the timbers and he fell from the 
plank and received injuries, but did not look up or see the 
timbers before starting to walk up the plank, it is not 
necessary to consider whether the plank was a mechani- 
cal contrivance within the meaning of the Labor Law, 
section 18, for the reason that the danger was an obvious 
one. 

The Labor Law does not permit an employee to shut 
his eyes against an obvious risk and there is no reason in 
principle or authority why an employee should not be 
allowed to assume the obvious risks of the business. 

An employee is required to exercise his faculties, and 
use his senses in connection with his work, and cannot 
heedlessly perform his work and then, if he is injured, 
when ordinary prudence would have prevented the in- 
jury, claim damages from his employer, who had no 
better opportunity than had the employee himself. 

Where the danger is open, obvious and plain to any 
one at a glance, and the employee, instead of familiariz- 
ing himself by observation with the structures and their 
situation and condition, considered as an obvious risk or 
with reference to the employee's contributory negligence, 
a recovery should not be sustained. 

A person who utterly fails to use that prudence which 
the situation and circumstances require, is guilty of con- 
tributory negligence as a matter of law. 1002, 77 App. 
Div., 562. 



118 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

33. Employer's Duty cannot be Delegated— What are " Str na- 
tures " and " Scaffolds."— 

The Labor Law imposes a duty upon the employer 
which cannot be delegated, of exercising reasonable care 
and diligence to make scaffolding upon which the em- 
ployee works, safe and proper. 

A vessel in course of construction in a shipyard, is a 
structure within the meaning of that part of the Labor 
Law as to the duty of the master when erecting scaffolds 
about buildings and structures in course of erection. 

The word "structure" includes poles planted in the 
ground, and connected together by wires and insulators 
and it includes amine or pit sunk within a mining plain, 
and the staging or construction of cross planks and joints 
are within the meaning of " scaffold" under the statute. 
1902, 68 App. Div., 578. 



34. An Employee injured while obeying directions of Fore- 
man not Entitled to Recover, though Labor Law not 
Complied with.— 

Section 18 of the Labor Law imposes the duty upon 
the master and it is a power that cannot be delegated, to 
furnish and erect suitable scaffolding for his men, and 
by section 19 it shall be so constructed as to bear four 
times the maximum weight required to be dependant 
therefrom or placed thereon. 

What, before this enactment, had been construed to 
be a mere detail of work, is now an absolute duty resting 
upon the master. 

But where the master performs his duty by providing 
appliances or structures suitable for the purpose and the 
employee, a skilled workman, familiar with the manner 
of doing the work, and others engaged with him, are his 
co-employees and defective material is taken when there 
is other appropriate for the work, the oversight or care- 
lessness is that of a fellow workman for which the em- 
ployer is not responsible. 

The fact that the employee is injured while obeying 
the directions of a foreman, does not charge the employer 
with liability for the injury inflicted. 1901, 64 App. 
Div., 135. 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 119 

35. The Scaffold intended by the Labor Law is a completed 
Scaffold— When skill required to find defects, Servants 
do not assume hazards. — 

The Labor Law, Section 18, which gives a remedy 
against the master in favor of an employee, who is in- 
jured while working on a scaffold by reason of some de- 
fect therein, has reference to a completed scaffold ; and 
the doctrine of res ipso loquitur does not apply where the 
scaffold is in course of erection and from the mere falling 
of a part of it alone, the inference of negligence cannot 
be drawn. 

But where the defect, though apparent, requires skill 
and judgment not possessed by ordinary observers or by 
the servant to give knowledge of hazards which may be 
apprehended therefrom, the employee or servant does 
not assume those hazards ; and where the employee is an 
efficient laborer but it does not appear that he is familar 
with principles and methods of construction and not be- 
ing thus skilled he cannot be charged as matter of law 
with knowledge of the condition of piles, which for the 
most part are concealed in water and earth and with driv- 
ing which he had nothing to do, nor with knowledge of 
the effect of the presence or absence of particular braces 
in the superstructure. 1900, 56 App. Div., 71. 



36. Employer is bound to Erect and Furnish and to Maintain 
Safe, Suitable and proper Scaffolding under the Labor 
Law —Employee's failure to look or observe, Question of 
Fact and not of Law. 

Section 18 of the Labor Law declares that an employer 
is bound to erect and furnish a safe, suitable and proper 
scaffolding for the use of his employees, and the inten- 
tion of the law is that the duty thus imposed can only be 
performed by maintaining the condition that the law re- 
quires to be created. The employer is not only bound to 
erect and furnish a safe scaffold but also to maintain it 
in that condition during the time the employee is required 
to work thereon pursuant to his orders and his failure to 
do so would be negligence. The fact that the employee 
failed to look or observe that a lapped plank had been re- 
moved, does not create a question of law but one of fact 



120 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

as to his contributory negligence and is a question for 
the jury to determine. 1901, 35 Misc., 384. 

37. Employers who furnish. Scaffold which is erected by 
their Servant or Agent, if erected in a careless and im- 
provident manner, Fail to perform their Duty for In- 
juries to another Servant or Employee therefrom. 

Section 18 of the Labor Law compels employers when 
they undertake to erect a scaffolding to do so in a careful 
and prudent manner. It should be so erected as to safely 
bear the weight of any man or number of men who have 
cause to be upon the same for the purpose of doing the 
work assigned him or them by the employers or their 
agent. The fact that the man or men who erected the 
same were employed also upon the same work, does not 
make him or them fellow servants. So far as the work 
of erecting the scaffolding, he or they represent the em- 
ployer, and for his or their negligent work the employers 
are liable. 

So held where the scaffold was furnished by the em- 
ployers and erected by their servant or agent, to enable 
the employee who was injured to do his work. That if 
the employer's servant erected the same in a careless and 
improvident manner, then the employers failed to per- 
form the duty required of them by said section. 1900, 
32 Misc., 628. 

{Section 70.) 

38. A Child under Fourteen not to be Employed in any Fac- 

tory, and between Fourteen and Sixteen Years of Age 
not to be so Employed unless a Certificate of a Health 
Officer be Filed in the Office of the Employer, does not 
Assume Risks of Employment as Matter of Law but is 
Question of Fact for Jury. 

The Labor Law, Section 70, by its first provision is an 
absolute prohibition without any qualification of the em- 
ployment in a factory of any child under fourteen years 
of age, and was passed as a police regulation, designed 
to protect children of tender age from injuries liable to 
result from their employment in dangerous avocations, 
such as the operation of machines or presses usually found 
in factories. 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 121 

The knowledge and capacity of the infant, his judg- 
ment, discretion, care and caution and his ability to know 
and appreciate the dangers that surround him, even prior 
to the adoption of the Labor Law, were questions of fact 
for the jury. 

And where a child is under the age required by the 
Statute and has not arrived at that period in life in which 
the judgment, discretion, and caution of persons ordi- 
narily become mature, it cannot be held as matter of 
law, that they have assumed the risks of the employment, 
but a question of fact is presented for the determination 
of the jury and in case it be found that the employer was 
negligent and the child under the circumstances was not 
chargeable with contributory negligence, the employer 
is civilly liable. 

The statute amounts to a declaration by the state that 
the employment of children under fourteen years of age 
in a factory is so far neglectful of their lives and limbs 
as to make it the duty of the State in the exercise of its 
police powers to forbid such employment and enforce its 
command by penalties. 

The purpose of the statute is to save the life and keep 
the body whole of children of such tender years as are 
not able to exercise good judgment in their own protec- 
tion and not to be trusted to take the same precautions 
to save themselves from harm that adults would. And 
where the employers disregard the law and employ and 
give directions to one of the subjects of the state in viola- 
tions for he state's policy and the outcome of it is an in- 
jury to the child which could not have happened had the 
law been observed, the necessary and logical practice 
would be that the jury should be permitted to consider 
the violation of the statute in connection with the other 
facts as evidence tending to show negligence on the part 
of the employer. 1903, 173 N. Y., 530. 



39. Child between Fourteen and Sixteen, unless Certificate 
Filed, Prohibited, same as if under Fourteen,— Burden 
of Proof does not Rest on Employer that Certificate was 
or was not Filed. 

Sec. TO and 71 prohibit the employment of a child 



122 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

fifteen years of age as of one under fourteen years when 
the certificate mentioned has not been filed in the office of 
the employer. But, assuming that the employment in a 
factory of a child between the ages of fourteen and six- 
teen years is precisely on the same plane as that of one- 
under fourteen years, unless a certificate has been ob- 
tained and filed, the child or employee is not entitled to 
invoke the rules which would be applicable where a cer- 
tificate had not been filed in the absence of any evidence 
that such was the fact, and it is not for the employer, as 
part of his case, to show that it had been filed and in the 
absence of any evidence at all, the court will not presume 
under the pleadings and upon the evidence that no cer- 
tificate had been filed. 

The statute creates an entirely new ground of liability, 
and to recover, the case must be brought within the pro- 
visions of the statute as a whole, and the burden does not 
rest upon the employer. 1904, 94 App. Div., 38. 

{Section 79.) 

40. Labor Law— When Inapplicable.— 

Labor Law, Section 79, is not applicable to a case 
where a boy between fourteen and sixteen years of age 
is not employed to run the elevator and what he does 
with reference to it, is his own voluntary act. One who 
employs an errand boy between fourteen and fifteen 
years of age is not guilty of negligence when he sends 
him on an errand because he does not send someone to 
look after him. 1902, 72 App. Div., 618. 

{Section 81,) 

41. When Section 81, Labor Law, is Violated by Employer 

—when Question for Jury.— 

The Labor Law, Section 81, is violated where an em- 
ployer, having a planing machine for which a proper 
guard is provided, but its use is dispensed with pursuant 
to the instructions of the employer and the employee, who 
has had but little experience in the use of the machine, is 
told to use the machine in this dangerous condition, and 



LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 123 

there is no evidence that he has ever been told of its dan- 
gers. When he attempted to take the necessary precau- 
tions by the adjustment of the guard placed upon the 
machine in accordance with the provisions of the statute, 
he was told by the employer to desist and to use the ma- 
chine without the guard properly arranged which was 
the cause of the accident. 

The use of the machine in this way was a direct viola- 
tion of the Labor Law, section SI. 

It was a question for the jury to determine whether 
the employee was shown to have such acquaintance with 
the dangers of the machine in this condition that he could 
be said to have assumed the risk. 

It was the duty of the employer not only not to direct 
the use of the machine without its being properly 
guarded but to forbid its use in such condition. 1904, 
94 App. Div., 183. 

42. Section 81 does not require Employers to guard against 

every Danger. — 

By the Labor Law, Section 81, it was intended that 
those parts of the machinery which were dangerous to 
the servants, whose duty required them to work in its 
immediate vicinity, should be properly guarded so as to 
minimize, as far as practicable, the dangers attending 
their labors, but masters are not called upon to guard 
against every possible danger. They are required only 
to guard against such dangers as would occur to a reason- 
ably prudent man. 1904, 94 App. Div., 38. 

43. When a Boy under Sixteen not guilty of Contributory 

negligence as Matter of Law. — 

An action predicated upon a violation of section 81 of 
the Labor Law for 'personal injuries sustained by a boy 
fifteen years of age who had obtained the required certifi- 
cate upon a misrepresentation of the facts, and employed 
by a manufacturer of tools and machinery and had worked 
seven days in the tool room, and a machine known as a 
conveyor operated by mechanical power was used by the 
employer to carry tools to and from different floors, the 
conveyor being in constant motion during business, mov- 



124 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ing about one foot per second. On the eighth day he was 
directed to attend the conveyor on the fourth floor in the 
absence of the boy who regularly attended it, which was 
his first experience at that work. He had received no 
warning as to the danger or instructions as to the safe 
method of performing the duties assigned. 

Held, not a dangerous machine as matter of law with- 
in contemplation of the statute ; That the question of 
contributory negligence was one for the consideration of 
the jury ; That, if it appeared that the boy at the time 
realizing and appreciating the danger, heedlessly thrust 
his head in the path of the descending pans, it would be 
contributory negligence as matter of law, but where the 
injury is received while attempting as best he could to 
perform the duties assigned to him, it raises a question 
for the jury. 1904, 91 App. Div., 141. 

44. When Labor Law, Section 81, Does not Relieve Employee 

from Consequence of Own Act or from Assuming Obvious 
Risks or Contributory Negligence.— 

Labor Law, Section 81, does not relieve an employee 
from the consequence of her own voluntary act and there 
is no reason why an employee should not be allowed to 
assume the obvious risks of the business. 

Where an employee's injuries are as much due to her 
own negligence as to that of the employer, no recovery 
can be had. 1902, 74 App. Div., 561. 

45. When Machinery in course of construction or incom- 

pleted parts not required to be covered or guarded.— 

The Labor Law, Section 81, evidently intends that 
those parts of machinery which are dangerous to the 
servants whose duty requires them to work in its imedi- 
ate vicinity, should be properly guarded so as to mini- 
mize as far as practicable, the danger attending their 
labors. 

It was not intended, however, that every piece of 
machinery in a large building should be so covered or 
guarded. 

There is nothing in the statute that requires an em. 
ployer to cover or guard machinery in the course of con- 






LABOR LAW DECISIONS. 125 

struct ion so that persons engaged in constructing it 
would not be injured, or that, where machinery is in the 
course of construction, the incompleted parts must be 
guarded so that those engaged in finishing its construc- 
tion shall not be injured. 1902, 71 App. Div., 47. 

{Section 110.) 

46. Labor Law, Section 110, Held Valid.— 

Section 110 of the Labor Law, which regulates the 
hours of labor in bakeries and confectionery establish- 
ments by limiting them to not exceeding sixty per week 
and ten per day, ''unless for the purpose of making a 
shorter work day on the last day of the week," is within 
the police power possessed by the Legislature, as it is to 
benefit the public and has a just and reasonable relation 
to the public welfare and is valid because it provides that 
an employment which the Legislature deems, and which 
is in fact, to some extent detrimental to health, no person, 
regardless of age or sex, shall be permitted or required to 
labor more than a certain number of hours per day or 
week. Such legislation, under such circumstances, is a 
health law and is a valid exercise of the police power. 
1904, 177 N. Y. 145, Affirming App. Div. 

(Section 122.) 

47. Labor Law, Section 122, Construed.— 

Where an employer, operating a talc mine, has an 
employee as a miner who was at the bottom of the mine 
and was killed, by the fall of a large mass of material 
called a pillar of talc upon him, and the jury found the 
employer was negligent in regard to the pillar, and that 
the accident would not have happened had the employer 
in this regard performed his duty : 

Held, It was the duty of the employer to adopt all 
reasonable means and precautions to provide for the 
safety of his employees ; and that the evidence was 
sufficient to sustain the conclusion of the jury that the 
employer was liable. 1S99, 41 App. Div., 613. 



126 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

{Section 162.) 

48. Employer omitting to comply with Section 162, con- 

tributory negligence on part of child not Matter of Law- 
Duty of Employer — Effect of no proof of freedom from 
fault on part of child.— 

Labor Law, Section 162, if not complied with by an 
employer, contributory negligence may not, as matter of 
law, be imputed to the child in respect to whom the 
omission relates. 

A boy between fourteen and fifteen years of age em- 
ployed as a cash boy in a mercantile establishment, and 
killed by falling down an elevator shaft in the store, had 
used the elevator three or four days to remove books to 
the vault but had received no instructions concerning the 
running of the elevator. 

Held, that a duty rested upon the employer to explain 
to him the proper manner of managing it ; that the 
evidence established negligence of the employer. But 
there was no sufficient proof of the freedom from 
fault on the part of the boy, that the necessity for the 
production of such proof still exists and that requirement 
was not met ; that the failure to file the certificate did 
not enlarge the liability of the employer ; that this part 
of the statute is directory. 1904, 96 App. Div., 465. 

{Section 180-4) 

49. Provisions requiring Licensing of Horseshoers are viola- 

tion of constitution and Invalid.— 

Labor Law, Section 180 to 184 inclusive, making pro- 
vision for a board of examiners to examine and license 
horseshoers, presents a question whether the regulation 
of the subject of horseshoeing falls within the authority 
of the State under the exercise of the police power, and 
held, that this law arbitrarily interferes with personal 
liberty and private property without due process of law 
for which reason it is invalid ; 

That the regulation of horseshoeing does not bear such 
relation to the public health, comfort and safety of society 
as to bring it within the subject upon which the police 
power may operate. 



PENAL CODE DECISIONS. 127 

Though broad and comprehensive in its scope, the 
power which may be exercised by the state has its limita- 
tions and must, in its exercise, have relation to the promo- 
tion of health, comfort, safety and welfare of society, 
and that, therefore, these sections of the Labor Law and 
section 384m of the Penal Code are unconstitutional. 
1901, 96 App. Div., 383. 



PENAL CODE. 

(Sections 168 & 170.) 

50. What Threats are a violation of the Penal Code— What 
Threats are Lawful— Rights of Union and non-union men 
—When Boycott is Unlawful— Agreement in restraint of 
trade— Demurrer to indictment not sustained— Con- 
spiracy under Penal Code.— 

Under section 108 and 170 of the Penal Code, where it 
is admitted in the indictment that one of the objects the 
accused were seeking to accomplish was an increase in 
wages in order to accomplish the object approved in sec- 
tion 170, the members of the combination cannot co- 
operate to use any of the means which are declared to be 
illegal by section 168, such as, " to prevent another from 
exercising a lawful trade or calling or doing any other 
lawful act, by force, threats or intimidation." 

If in order ultimately to effectuate the betterment of 
the condition of the members, the accused maliciously 
and with the immediate and direct intention to work an 
injury, conspire to deprive non-union men of all means of 
living and to bring about the destruction of the property 
of anyone standing out against their demands, the statue 
was violated, and one's business is property. 

In so far as the ""threat" to injure property consisted 
only in the declaration of a purpose to quit the employ- 
ment of anyone who would not submit to their demands, 
the agreement so to act was not a criminal conspiracy — 
But an incident to the exercise of lawful right which 
could be exercised singly or collectively without incurring 
any liability, criminal or civil, unless there was a breach 
of contract. 



128 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

But to threaten the manufacturers with business an- 
nihilation with the waging of a war of destruction against 
them by the m? icious use of the boycott, compelling 
would be custom^ » to desist from purchasing because of 
fear induced by threats that if they do purchase, the full 
power of the organization will be focused and projected 
against them to their destruction, is condemned by the 
law. 

When members of an organization endeavor to compel 
a man to join the organization by threatening him that 
unless he does so they will not only refuse to labor with 
him but to prevent him from obtaining work at his trade, 
they will utilize the entire power and enginery of the as- 
sociation to turn customers away from and promote hos- 
tility toward any one who dares to employ him as a 
punishment for giving him work, they are guilty of the 
crime of conspiracy to prevent another from following 
his lawful occupation under section 168 of the Penal 
Code. 

So far as the charge relates to the pre venture of non- 
union men from following their trade or calling the in- 
dictment in not naming the men or some of them who 
were thus injured, is defective. 

An agreement which restrains competition and freedom 
of trade in articles of common necessity is against public 
policy and harmful to the community. 

And where a boycott is threatened unless such an 
agreement is signed, and which requires the purchase of 
materials only of such factories as had received the ap- 
proval of the union, it would be a restraint upon trade and. 
commerce as is conditioned by said section 168 of the 
Penal Code. 

The indictment held sufficient to put the accused upon 
their trial and demurrer thereto disallowed. 1904, 43 
Misc., 591. 

{Section 381th.) 

51. Penal Code, Section 384h Violates Federal Constitution 
and is invalid.— 

The Penal Code, section 3S4h, subdivision 1, cannot be 
upheld as an exercise of the police power vested in the 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT DECISIONS. 129 

Legislature or because the work was being done for the 
state. The statue does not assume to punish an offender 
against its provisions because he has violated any contract 
but solely because he has done the prohibited act, i. e., 
required more than eight hours labor regardless of the 
terms and conditions of his contract. 

The statute should, therefore, be condemned in its en- 
tirety and cannot be upheld as to the limited class of 
cases in which it may be, the Legislature had the power 
to act but has not acted. 1903, 175 N. Y., 84, Reversing 
App. Div., and Affirming Misc. 

(Section SSl^m.) 

52. Section 384m of the Penal Code Unconstitutional.— 
Penal Code, section 384w, requiring the licensing of 

horseshoers is unconstitutional for reasons given in Deci- 
sion No. 49, which see. 

(CHAPTER 459, LAWS OF 1903, SECTION 4.) 

53. Section 4, Chapter 459, Laws of 1903, not unconstitu- 
tional, good Faith no Excuse.— 

Section 5 of title 16 of the Consolidated School Law 
(Laws of 1894, Chap. 566) amended by Section 4, chapter 
459, Laws of 1903, (See page 83) is a just and valid exer- 
cise of the police power of the state and not unconstitu- 
tional. 

An exemption from liability on account of good faith, 
want of intent to violate the statute and subsequent non- 
employment of the child, cannot be asserted or claimed. 

The employer acts at his peril and the fact of employ- 
ment makes him liable for the penalty of fifty dollars 
besides costs. 1904, 43 Misc. 266. 

(EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT.) 

54. Statue affects only additional Liabilities and not Common 
Law Liabilities.— 

The Employer's Liability Act, (Laws 1902, chapter 600) 
requiring notice of time, place and cause of injury, to 
be served upon the employer within one hundred and 
9 



130 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

twenty days after the occurrence of the accident, where 
the complaint does not charge any liability based on the 
provisions of that statue, but states a good cause of 
action under the law of this state prior to the enactment 
of that statute, does not render the complaint demurrable 
on the ground that it fails to constitute a cause of action. 
By the terms of the statute, the requirement of notice to 
employer is limited to " actions for the recovery of com- 
pensation for injury or death under this act." It has 
given an additional cause of action where it prescribes 
that the master shall be liable for the negligence of the 
superintendent or any person acting as such. 

At common law the master was liable for the fault of, 
among others, those to whom he intrusted the whole 
management of the work with power to employ and dis- 
charge servants, but he was not liable for the negligence 
of foreman merely as such. The statute does not cover 
the whole liability of the employer to the employee. 
The statute was only intended to subject and safeguard 
the new or extended liability, and limited the require- 
ment for notice to actions for injuries or death under this 
act, and where the action is based on the Common Law 
Liability, it is unnecessary to give the statutory notice. 

The constitutionality of the Employer's Liability Act 
not determined. 1904, 178 N. Y., 147. Reversing App. 
Div. 

55. When Common Laborer does not Assume Risks as Matter 
of Law— When Employer not Free from Fault as Matter 
of Law.— 

Where an employee by his long service, three or four 
years, assumed the risks which the general plan or 
method of the operations of the employer involved, but 
did not assume the risks of defective or improper appli- 
ances in that plan or method or work unless the defect 
was obvious, or he had so long used the appliance as to 
be chargeable in law with knowledge of its insufficiency. 
He had the right to rely on the presumption that the 
master had done his duty in furnishing safe and suitable 
appliances, and where, so far as his experience had gone, 
he had seen that there was no danger from a change in 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT DECISIONS. 131 

the appliance which he knew of, but not of the danger 
which the change involved, and if he did not, then a con- 
tinuance in his employment was not an assumption of 
the risk, and it cannot be held as a matter of law, that 
such common laborer should have foreseen the risks thus 
involved. 

As to the issue, the burden of proof is on the employer. 

It was the duty of the employer to guard against such 
accidents as could be foreseen as liable to occur by the 
exercise of reasonable care. 

In making the change, the employer was bound to 
use reasonable care that the new appliance was equally 
safe with the old, and the jury might have found that 
the master was chargeable with knowledge of the danger 
caused by the change, which would not be imputed to a 
common laborer. 1903, 175 N. Y., 401. Reversing App. 
Div. 

56. Promise by Employer to Repair Defect— Risks Assumed 

Become Risks of Employer.— 

The Employer's Liability Act may in the future present 
a question of purely academic interest as to the rule that, 
if a servant who has knowledge of defects in appliances 
or machinery from which danger is to be apprehended, 
is induced to continue in the employment, by the promise 
of the master to repair the defect, the risk during the 
running of the promise and for a reasonable time there- 
after is that of the master and not of the servant. 

Where the promise made to repair was not strictly 
equivalent of a promise to repair at once but capable of 
the construction that it was to be fulfilled within a reason- 
able time, the employee is justified in remaining at his 
work because,- during that reasonable time, covered by 
the employer's promise, the risk theretofore voluntarily 
accepted by the employee is assumed by the employer. 
1903, 174 N. Y., 385. Reversing App. Div. 

57. Employer's Liability where a Place in which a Servant is 

Required to Work becomes Unsafe— Employment of a 
Foreman Binds Master. — 

It is the duty of the master in employing servants to 
use reasonable care to provide them with proper appli- 



132 LABOR. LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ances and a safe place to work, and this duty is so firmly 
fastened upon him by law that he cannot delegate it 
without liability for the negligence of the one to whom 
he intrusts it. The duty of using reasonable care in in- 
specting the place where servants are set at work is also 
the master's duty which he must properly discharge at 
his peril, either personally or through another. Certain 
work is inherently dangerous, and yet the master has 
the right to hire servants to do it. In such cases, how- 
ever, unless the danger is obvious to an ordinary observer, 
it is his duty to give them full warning, so that they 
may refuse to work if they do not wish to run the risk, 
and proper instructions so that if they enter upon the 
work they may be able to take care of themselves. 

Where the servant was employed by a foreman and 
set to work without warning, it was the same in legal 
effect as if the employer in person had done it knowing 
of the danger as it then existed. 1902, 173 N. Y., 13. 
Reversing App. Div. 

58. Rules Prescribed by a Railroad Company not Matter of 
Fact as to Sufficiency— New Rule under Employer's Lia- 
bility Act as to Assumption of Risks.— 

In an action against a railroad company, it is an error 
for the court to decline to rule that the rules of the com- 
pany were sufficient, and to leave their sufficiency as a 
question of fact to the determination of the jury. It was 
not shown that any other rules that would afford greater 
safety to the employees were in use under similar cir- 
cumstances by the other railroads, nor were experts 
called to show the necessity or practicability of any other 
rules. 

No new liability is created by the Employer's Liability 
Act for the failure of an employer to make proper rules 
and regulations for the safety of his employees. Sections 
1 and 2 of that act apply only to causes of action arising 
thereunder. But it has not been decided that none of 
the provisions of that act apply to causes of action for 
negligence in general, regardless of whether they arise 
under the statute or at common law. Section 3 of the act 
is manifestly of general application to all actions by 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT DECISIONS. 133 

servants against masters for negligence upon causes of 
action arising thereafter. It prescribes a new rule with 
reference to the assumption of risks more favorable to 
the employee than the rule that previously obtained, and 
it is applicable to this case. 1904, 95 App. Div., 437. 

59. Notice Served within 120 Days but not within 60 Days 
after Appointment of Administrator not Sufficient.— 

Where there would be no cause of action but for the 
Employer's Liability Act, the negligence complained of 
being that of a fellow servant, and no notice was given 
by the injured employee prior to his death, and the notice 
given by his administrator was not until more than 
sixty days after his appointment as such administrator 
but within one hundred and twenty days after the acci- 
dent, the notice is insufficient, and for a failure to give 
the notice by section 2 of the statute, the action cannot 
be maintained and complaint should be dismissed. 1904, 
95 App. Div., 336. (To the contrary see Decision No. 
63 ; 94 App. Div., 14.) 

60. When Employer's Liability Act does not Apply— Com- 
mon Law Liability— When Questions for Jury.— 

The Employer's Liability Act (Ch. 600 Laws 1902) 
does not apply to a case where the complaint does not 
charge any liability based upon the provisions of this 
statute, but only applies to any new or extended liability 
created thereby, and where it is charged in the complaint 
that the employer did not furnish the employee a reason- 
ably safe place to work, and the facts are alleged upon 
which that conclusion is predicated for a failure to exer- 
cise such a degree of care, the master is liable to a servant 
for any injury caused thereby under the common law 
liability of the master, and the complaint should not be 
dismissed for a failure to allege and prove that the notice 
required by section 2 of that act was given. 

A servant assumes all the risks usually incident to his 
employment, but it is only those risks which cannot be 
obviated by the exercise of such care by the master that 
the servant assumes. 

Known dangers which cannot be avoided by the exer- 



134 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

cise of reasonable care by the master are not such as are 
incident to the business. 

Where there is enough evidence to require the sub- 
mission of the employer's negligence and of the em- 
ployee's freedom from contributory negligence to the 
jury, the complaint should not be dismissed. 1904, 94 
App. Div., 600. 

61. Duty of Inspection of Appliances that of Master, not of 
Servant or Foreman— Effect of Statute— Servant's Knowl- 
edge of Defects.— 

Where a case is presented independent of the Employ- 
er's Liability Act, which requires the submission of the 
question of the employer's negligence to the jury, al- 
though the complaint is framed upon the theory of an 
action under that act and it is averred that, prior to the 
action, the notice required by the act was served, the 
complaint should not be dismissed. 

A servant was employed as foreman moving safes, and 
was hoisting a safe with a block and fall attached to a 
jack, which was a piece of hickory timber supported 
across a window, when the jack broke and the safe fell, 
causing injuries resulting in his death. The jack was 
Permeated with dry rot, and so insufficient in strength to 
sustain the weight of the safe. It was not observable 
from the outside but could have been detected by boring 
into the timber. The employer had no system of inspec- 
tion. 

Held, It was the employer's duty to furnish good and 
suitable appliances and to use reasonable care to keep 
them so, which involves proper inspection. Negligence 
in respect of it is negligence of the master, and none the 
less so when the inspection is committed to a servant. 

The Employer's Liability Act adds to the gravity of 
the situation. 

The employer and not the employee is charged with 
the obligation or duty of inspection which might have 
disclosed the infirmity. 

If the employee had knowledge of the infirmity and 
chose to make use of the jack, he would be held to have 
assumed the risks incident to such use notwithstanding 
the statute. 1904, 94 App. Div., 306. 



EMPLOYER'S LIABILITY ACT DECISIONS. 135 

62. An Action may be Maintained under the Labor Law 
though Facts to bring it within Employer's Liability 
Act are not Alleged.— 

See Decision No. 26 (94 App. Div., 171). 

63. When Notice Sufficient— When Fault of Employer and 
Absence of Fault of Employee not shown— When Non- 
suit will be Sustained.— 

Under the Employer's Liability Act, which requires 
notice to the employer, within 120 days after the occur- 
rence of the accident, to be given by the employee, or in 
case of his death without having given such notice, his 
executor or administrator may give such notice within 
sixty days after his appointment. A notice served within 
120 days after the accident, but not within 60 days after 
the appointment of the administrator, is served in time. 

The intention of the statute is to give 120 days in all 
cases to serve the notice, and to give time beyond that in 
cases of incompetency or death, if additional time is ne- 
cessary. And a non-suit on the ground that such notice 
was not sufficient, not sustained. 

But, Held, that in order for the employee to maintain 
the action it was necessary to give evidence to show neg- 
ligence on the part of the employer and the absence of 
contributory negligence on the part of the employee 
under the provisions of the act in question. 

And where the only permissible inference that could be 
drawn by the jury as to the cause of the accident was 
that it resulted from the carelessness of the employee, and 
that the employer was in no way responsible for the 
accident, a non-suit was properly granted and should be 
upheld. 1904, 94 App. Div., 14. 

64. Negligence of Superintendent who is a Co-employee, no 
Defense under Employer's Liability Act.— 

Where it is conceded on the trial that the action would 
not lie except under Employer's Liability Act, under 
which the complaint is framed, and the alleged negligence 
consists in the failure of the superintendent which caused 
the accident, and without which it could not have hap- 
pened. The negligence of the superintendent was that 
of a co-employee, and was one of the risks which the em- 



136 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ployee assumed in accepting the employment and in doing 
the work which he was directed to do. 

But, Held, that the object was, and the effect of sub- 
division 2, section 1 of the Employer's Liability Act is, 
to take from the employer the defense of common em- 
ployment where the injury results to an employee through 
the negligence of one whose sole or principal duty is that 
of superintendence. At least, this is so where the negli- 
gence related to the place of performance of the work and 
the construction of appliances for its prosecution. 

The defense that the negligence is that of a co-employee 
is not available to the employer. 1904:, 90 App. Div., 577. 

65. In an Action under Employer's Liability Act, Employee 
must Establish Cause of Action thereunder and not Com- 
mon Law Cause of Action under Objection.— 

Under the Employer's Liability Act, an action in which 
the complaint is founded upon that act and there is a 
failure to prove a cause of action under that act, irrespec- 
tive of whether or not an employee still retains his right 
to bring a common law action for injuries against his 
employer, notwithstanding that act, if he elects to bring 
his action under that act his proofs must establish a cause 
of action thereunder. He cannot plead within the pre- 
cise terms of the act and then be permitted to prove, if 
reasonable objection be made, acts of negligence wholly 
outside his complaint. 1904, 90 App. Div., 567. 

66. Employer's Liability Act— Labor Law, Section 18— No- 
tice of Injury, etc.— 

The requirement of the Employer's Liability Act that 
notice shall be given in all such actions as are brought 
under it does not abrogate the right of action but merely 
affects the remedy. 

It does not take away any common law right of action 
nor destroy the right of action for violation of Section 18 
of the Labor Law. 

But the provision for notice is in the nature of a statute 
of limitations which affects the remedy without destroy- 
ing the right. 1903, 83 App. Div., 351. 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



PARTS I AND II REVISED AND CONTINUED TO 
DECEMBER, 1907. 



PART I. 

LAWS RELATING TO LABOR 
A» amended to and including 1907, and consisting of 

THE LABOR LAW. 

Chapter 415 of 1897. Constituting Chapter 32 of the General 
Laws, Articles I to XIII, Sections 1 to 184 inclusive. 

ARTICLE I. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

PAGE 

Sections 1 to 21 2-14, 143-149 

Sections amended 3, 5, 9, 20; and 7a added. 

ARTICLE II. 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 

Sections 30-38 15, 150-154 

Sections amended 30-38. 

ARTICLE III. 

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. 

Sections 40-43 repealed 16-17, 154-157 

Sections 40-42 amended. 

ARTICLE IV. 

CONVICT-MADE GOODS. 

Sections 50-55 18-20 

ARTICLE V. 

BUREAU OF FACTORY INSPECTION. 

Sections 60-68 22, 157-159 

Sections amended 60-68. 

ARTICLE VI. 

FACTORIES. 

Sections 70-95 23-33, 159-183 

Sections amended 71, 73, 76, 77, 78, 81, 86, 87, 88; and 74 re- 
pealed, and 94 and 95 added. 

137 



138 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

PAGE 

ARTICLE VII. 

TENEMENT-MADE ARTICLES. 

Sections 100-106 34-38, 183-180 

Sections amended 100, 102; and 106 repealed. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

BAKERIES AND CONFECTIONERY ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Sections 110-115 42-44, 190-193 

Sections amended 111, 114. 

ARTICLE IX. 

MINES AND THEIR INSPECTION. 

Sections 120-136 45-48, 193-198-200 

Sections amended 120-129. Sections added 130-136. 

ARTICLE X. 

BUREAU OF MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION. 

Chapter 505 of 1907 49, 200-203 

Sections 140-148. 
Sections amended 140-148. 

ARTICLE XL 

EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN MERCANTILE ESTABLISHMENTS. 

Sections 1G0-173 50-56, 204-214 

Sections amended 161, 162, 163, 165, 167. 

ARTICLE XII. 

EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 

Sections 174179a . . . 57-59, 214-220 

Sections amended 174- 179a. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF HORSESHOERS. 

Sections 180-184 60-61 220 

Repealed by Chapter 83 of 1907. 

THE PENAL CODE. 

IN RELATION TO LABOR. 
Sections 168, 170, 171a, 171b, 171c, 259, 260, 263, 265, 266, 267, 
268, 269, 270, 276, 384b, 384f, 384g, 384h, 384i, 384j, 

384k, 3841 384m, 447a, 447c, 447f, 673 220-224 

Section 384f repealed by Chap. 506 of 1907 62-70 

384g amended by Chap. 521 of 1906. 

384h amended by Chap. 506 of 1907. 

384h sub. 4, amended by Chap. 523 of 1907. 

3841 amended by Chap. 506 of 1907. 

384m held invalid, 96 A. D. 383; 102 A. D. 106. 

384r added by Chap. 136 of 1905. 



LABOlt, LAWS AND DECISIONS. ifrj 

PAGE 

THE CODE OF CIVIL PBOCEDUKE. 

Section 3414, preference over contractors 71 

TO PREVENT FRAUD IN LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 

Laws of 1898, Ch. 671. 

TO CREATE A DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, ETC. 

Laws of 1901, Ch. 9, repealed by Ch. 505 of 1907 72 

HOLIDAYS. 

Laws of 1902, Ch. 39 79 

THE EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 

LAWS of 1902, Chapter 600 80-83 

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL LAW. 

Child Labor. 

LAWS of 1894, Chapter 556. 

of 1903, Chapter 459. 

of 1907, Chapter 585. 

Title }Q, section 5 83-85, 225 226 

LAWS of 1903, Chapter 632. 

Act to regulate barbering. 

Repealed by Ch. 256 of 1906 85-90 

LAWS of 1895, Chapter 823. 

Sunday barbering. 

Amended by Ch. 297 of 1907 .90, 226-227 

LAWS of 1904, Chapter 77. 

Lenders of money to employees. 91 

LAW 7 S of 1904, Chapter 432. 

Employment Agencies 92-97, 227-244 

Repealed except as to Ch. 415 of 1897, 
by Ch. 327 and 328 of 1906. 

And amended as to cities of the first class, 
by Ch. 327 of 1906. 
And as to cities of the second class by Ch. 328 of 1906. 

THE RAILROAD LAW. 

LAWS of 1890, Chapter 565. 

Section 42. Persons employed as drivers and conductors. 

42a. Added by Ch. 657 of 1906 244-247 

43. To wear badges. 

58. Amended by Ch. 380 of 1906. 

THE DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW. 

LAWS of 1896, Chapter 272. 

Section 42. Payment of wages to minor 247- 



140 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

INSPECTOR OF STEAM VESSELS TO ASSIGN TO 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 

LAWS of 1897, Chapter 502. 

Amended by Chapter 520 of 1907 248 

LAWS IN RELATION TO CITIES. 

LAWS of 1900, Chapter 327. Plumbing and drainage. 

Article 3, sections 40-57. 

Amended by Chapter 168 of 1902 249-257 

As to employees, etc., operating garbage crematories. 

GENERAL LAWS. 

When laws to take effect. . XXV 

Chapter 682 of 1892. 

Constituting Ch. 8, article 2, section 42 of the General Laws. 

THE STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION LAW. 

Chapter 677 of 1892 XXV 

Section 31. 

Section 32 as amended by Ch. 448 of 1894. 

THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION LAW. 

Chapter 429 of 1907 257-321 

LIST OF STATUTES, SECTIONS AND PARTS OF LAWS 
AFFECTING LABOR. EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEES, ETC., 
AMENDED, ADDED, REPEALED AND AFFECTED BY 
LAWS OF 1905, 1906 AND 1907. 

ARTICLE I. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

1897 Chap. 415. Section 3 by Chap. 506 of 1906. 

5 * 243 1907 

7 added 627 1907. 

9 316 1906. 

20 520 1905. 

ARTICLE II. 

DEPARTMENT OP LABOR, 

Section 30-38 505 1907. 

(Article two renumbered Article three.) 

ARTICLE III. 

FREE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT BUREAU. 

Section 40-43, repealed by Chap. 158 of 1906. 
Article III. 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 141 

(Bureau of Labor Statistics.) 
Section 40-42, Added by Chap. 505 of 1907. 

ARTICLE V. 

BUREAU OF FACTORY INSPECTION. 

Section 60-68 by Chap. 505 of 1907. 
ARTICLE VI. 



Section 



FACTORIES 




71 by 


Ch. 


518 of 1905. 


71, 73 




291 


1907. 


76 




493 


1905. 


77 




490 


1906. 


77 




286 


1907. 


77, 78 




507 


1907. 


81 




366 


1906. 


86 




490 


1907. 


87 




216 


1906. 


88 




485 


1907. 


94, 95 added 


178 


1906. 



ARTICLE VII. 

TENEMENT -MADE ARTICLES. 

Section 100 by Chap. 129 of 1906. 

102 275 1906. 

106 repealed 505 1907. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

BAKERIES, CONFECTIONERIES, ETC. 

Section 111 by Chap. 401 of 1906. 

Ill 418 1907. 

114 401 1906. 

ARTICLE IX. 

MINES— INSPECTION, ETC. 

Section 120-129 by Chap. 399 of 1907. 
130-133 added 375 1906. 

134-136 " 399 1907. 

ARTICLE X. 

(BUREAU OF MEDITATION AND ARBITRATION.) 

Section 140-148 505 1907. 



142 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

ARTICLE XL 
(employment of women and children in mercantile 

ESTABLISHMENTS. ) 

Business Offices, etc. 

Section 161-162 490 1906. 

163, 165 291 1907. 

167 493 1905. 

ARTICLE XII. 

CHILDREN WORKING IN STREETS AND PUBLIC PLACES IN CITIES OF TK» 
FIRST AND SECOND CLASSES. 

1897 Chap. 415. Sections 174, 177, 179a by Chap. 519 of 1905. 
174-179a 588 1907. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

EXAMINATION AND REGISTRATION OF HORSESHOERS. 

Section 180-184 repealed by Chap. 83 of 1907. 

PENAL CODE. 

Section 384-f repealed by Chap. 506 of 1907. 
384-g amended by 521 1906. 

384-h 506 1907. 

384-h, sub. 4, amended by Chap. 523 of 1907. 
384-1 amended 506 1907. 

384-r added 136 1905. 

611 sub. 2, 3, amended 286 1906. 

1901 Chap. 9. Repealed by Chap. 505 of 1907. 

1894 556. Section 5, title 16. 

1903 459. Section 4, Consolidated School Law. 

1905 280. Title 16, sections 5, 7, 9. 10, amended by Chap. 585, 

Laws 1907. 
1907 585. Title 16, sections 3, 4, 5, amended, 4a added. 

1903 632. Barbers. Licensing of. repealed by Chap. 256 of 1906 

1895 823. Bartering on Sunday. 

Section 1, regulating in Saratoga, Chap. 297 of 1907, 

1904 432. Employment agencies. 

Amended as to cities of first class by Chap. 327 of 1906. 

second 328 1906. 

Repealed except as to 415 of 1897. 327 1906. 

328 1906. 
1890 565. The Railroad Law. 

Section 42a added by Chap. 657 of 1906. 
58 amended 380 

1896 272. Domestic Relations Law. 

Article IV, section 42, payment of wages to minor. 

1897 592. Inspectors of steam vessels, assignment of , to Department 

of Labor, amended by Chap. 520 of 1907. 
1907 429. Public Service Commissions Law. In effect July 1. 

1907. 



LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

PARTS I AND II. 

REVISED AND CONTINUED. 



PART I. — Laws Continued. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 

CHAPTER 500 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to re-enact section three of the labor law, rela- 
tive to the hours of labor and the prevailing rate of 
wages. 

Became a law, May 19, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section three of chapter four hundred 
and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety - 
seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor " consti- 
tuting chapter thirty-two of the general laws, as said 
.section was heretofore amended by chapter five hundred 
and sixty-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-nine and chapter two hundred and ninety-eight 
of the laws of nineteen hundred which section or a part 
thereof was heretofore declared unconstitutional by the 
court of appeals, and which reads as follows, is hereby 
re-enacted and enacted as section three of said labor 
law : 
Hours to constitute a day's work.— 

Sec. 3. Eight hours shall constitute a legal day's 
work for all classes of employees in this state except 
those engaged in farm and domestic service unless 
otherwise provided by law\ This section does not pre- 
vent an agreement for overwork at an increased com- 
pensation except upon work by or for the state or 
a municipal corporation, or by contractors or subcon- 

1 iS 



144 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tractors therewith. Each contract to which the state 
or a municipal corporation is a party which may involve 
the employment of laborers, workmen or mechanics 
shall contain a stipulation that no laborer, workman 
or mechanic in the employ of the contractor, sub- 
contractor or other person doing or contracting to do 
the whole or a part of the work contemplated by the 
contract shall be permitted or required to work more 
than eight hours in any one calendar day except in 
cases of extraordinary emergency caused by fire, flood 
or danger to life or property. The wages to be paid 
for a legal day's work as hereinbefore defined to all 
classes of such laborers, workmen or mechanics upon 
all such public works, or upon any material to be used 
upon or in connection therewith shall not be less than 
the prevailing rate for a day's work in the same trade 
or occupation in the locality within the state where such 
public work on, about or in connection with which such 
labor is performed in its final or completed form is to 
be situated, erected or used. Each such contract here- 
after made shall contain a stipulation that each such 
laborer, workman or mechanic, employed by such con- 
tractor, subcontractor or other person on, about or upon 
such public work, shall receive such wages herein pro- 
vided for. Each contract for such public work here- 
after made shall contain a provision that the same shall 
be void and of no effect unless the person or corporation 
making or performing the same shall comply with the 
provisions of this section; and no such person or cor- 
poration shall be entitled to receive any sum nor shall 
any officer, agent or employee of the state or of a muni- 
cipal corporation pay the same or authorize its pay- 
ments from the funds under his charge or control to 
any such person or corporation for work done upon any 
contract, which in its form or manner of performance 
violates the provisions of this section, but nothing in 
this section shall be construed to apply to persons regu- 
larly employed in state institutions, or to engineers, 



THE " LABOR LAW." 145 

electricians and elevator men in the department of 
public buildings, during the annual session of the legis- 
lature, nor to the construction, maintenance and repair 
of highways outside the limits of cities and villages. 
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

CHAPTER 243 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to hours of 
labor on street surface and elevated railroads in cities 
of the first and second class. 

Became a law, April 30, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section five of chapter four hundred and 
fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven 
entitled " An act in relation to labor, constituting chap- 
ter thirty-two of the general laws," is hereby amended 
to read as follows: 

Hours of Labor on Street Surface and Elevated Railroads.— 

Sec. 5. Ten consecutive hours' labor, including one- 
half hour for dinner, shall constitute a day's labor in the 
operation of all street surface and elevated railroads, of 
whatever motive power, owned or operated by corpora- 
tions in this state, whose main line of travel, or whose 
routes lie principally within the corporate limits of 
cities of the first and second class. No employee of any 
such corporation shall be permitted or allowed to work 
more than ten consecutive hours, including one-half 
hour for dinner, in any one day of twenty-four hours. 
In case of accident or unavoidable delay, extra labor 
may be performed for extra compensation. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect July first, nineteen 
hundred and seven. 



146 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

CHAPTER 627 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to hours of 
labor of certain employees on railroads. 

Became a law, July 19, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Chapter four hundred and fifteen of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled 
" An act in relation to labor, constituting chapter 
thirty-two of the general laws," is hereby amended by 
adding a new section after section seven thereof, to be 
section seven-a, to read as follows: 

Regulation of Hours of Labor of Block System Telegraph 
and Telephone Operators and Signalmen on Surface, 
Subway and Elevated Railroads.— 

Sec. 7-a. The provisions of section seven ot this 
chapter shall not be applicable to employees mentioned 
herein. It shall be unlawful for any corporation or 
receiver, operating a line of railroad, either surface, sub- 
way or elevated, in whole or in part, in the state of New 
York, or any officer, agent or representative of such cor- 
poration or receiver to require or permit any telegraph 
or telephone operator who spaces trains by the use of 
the telegraph or telephone under what is known and 
termed the "block system" (denned as follows) : Re- 
porting trains to another office or offices or to a train 
dispatcher operating one or more trains under signals, 
and telegraph or telephone levermen who manipulate 
interlocking machines in railroad yards, or on main 
tracks out on the lines or train dispatchers in its service 
whose duties substantially, as hereinbefore set forth, 
pertain to the movement of cars, engines or trains on 
its railroad by the use of the telegraph or telephone in 



THE "LABOR LAW." 147 

dispatching or reporting trains or receiving or trans- 
mitting train orders as interpreted in this section, to be 
on duty for more than eight hours in a day of twenty- 
four hours, and it is hereby declared that eight hours 
shall constitute a day of employment for all laborers 
or employees engaged in the kind of labor aforesaid ; 
except in cases of extraordinary emergency caused by 
accident, fire, flood or danger to life or property and 
for each hour of labor so performed in any one day in 
excess of such eight hours, by any such employee, he 
shall be paid in addition at least, one-eighth of his daily 
compensation. Any person or persons, company or 
corporation, who shall violate any of the provisions of 
tliis section, shall, on conviction, be fined in the sum 
not less than one hundred dollars, and such fine shall be 
recovered by an action in the name of the state of New 
York, for the use of the state, which shall sue for it 
against such person, corporation or association violat- 
ing this act, said suit to be instituted in any court in 
this state having appropriate jurisdiction. Such fine, 
when recovered as aforesaid, shall be paid without an} r 
deduction whatever, one-half thereof to the informer, 
and the balance thereof to be paid into the free school 
fund of the state of New York. The provisions of this 
act shall not apply to any part of a railroad where not 
more than eight regular passenger trains in twenty-four 
hours pass each way; provided, moreover, that where 
twenty freight trains pass each way generally in each 
twenty-four hours then the provisions of this act shall 
apply, notwithstanding that there may pass a less num- 
ber of passenger trains than hereinbefore set forth, 
namely eight. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



14:8 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



CHAPTER 316 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to cash pay- 
ment of wages. 

Became a law, April 24, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three -fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New- York, represented 
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section nine of chapter four hundred and 
fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, 
entitled " An act in relation to labor, constituting chap- 
ter thirty-two of the general laws," is hereby amended 
to read as follows: 

Cash Payment of Wages.— 

Sec. 9. Every manufacturing, mining, quarrying, 
mercantile, railroad, street railway, canal, steamboat, 
telegraph and telephone company, every express com- 
pany, and every water company, not municipal, and 
every person, firm or corporation, engaged in or upon 
any public work for the state or any municipal corpora- 
tion thereof, either as a contractor or a subcontractor 
therewith, shall pay to each employee engaged in his, 
their or its business the wages earned by such employee 
in cash. No such company, person, firm or corporation 
shall hereafter pay such employee in script, commonly 
known as store-money orders. No person, firm or cor- 
poration engaged in carrying on public work under con- 
tract with the state or with any municipal corporation 
of the state, either as a contractor or subcontractor 
therewith, shall, directly or indirectly, conduct or carry 
on what is commonly known as a company store, if 
there shall, at the time be any store selling supplies, 
within two miles of the place where such contract is 
being executed. Any person, firm or corporation vio- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 149 

lating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 520 OF 1905. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relating to the protec- 
tion of persons employed on buildings in cities. 

Became a law, May 17, 1905, with the opproval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section twenty of chapter four hundred 
and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven, entitled the " labor law" as amended by chapter 
one hundred and ninety-two of the laws of eighteen hun- 
dred and ninety-nine, is hereby amended to read as 
follows : 

Protection of Persons Employed on Buildings in Cities.— 

Sec. 20. All contractors and owners, when con- 
structing buildings in cities, where the plans and speci- 
fications require the floors to be arched between the 
beams thereof, or where the floors or filling in between 
the floors are of fireproof material or brickwork, shall 
complete the flooring or filling in as the building pro- 
gresses, to not less than within three tiers of beams be- 
low that on which the iron work is being erected. If 
the plans and specifications of such buildings do not 
require filling in between the beams of floors with brick 
or fireproof material all contractors for carpenter work, 
in the course of construction, shall lay the under-floor- 
ing thereof on each story as the building progresses, to 
not less than within two stories below the one to which 
such building has been erected. Where double floors 
are not to be used, such contractor shall keep planked 



150 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

over the floor two stories below the story where the 
work is being performed. If the floor beams are of iron 
or steel, the contractors for the iron or steel work of 
building in course of construction or the owners of such 
buildings, shall thoroughly plank over the entire tier of 
iron or steel beams on which the structural iron or steel 
work is being erected, except such spaces as may be 
reasonably required for the proper construction of such 
iron or steel w r ork, and for the raising or lowering of 
materials to be used in the construction of such building, 
or such spaces as may be designated by the plans and 
specifications for stairways and elevator shafts. If ele- 
vators, elevating machines or hod-hoisting apparatus 
are used within a building in the course of construction, 
for the purpose of lifting materials to be used in such 
construction, the contractor or owners shall cause the 
shafts or openings in each floor to be enclosed or fenced 
in on all sides by a barrier at least eight feet in height 
except on two sides which may be used for taking off 
and putting on materials, and those sides shall be 
guarded by an adjustable barrier not less than three 
nor more than four feet from the floor and not less than 
two feet from the edge of such shaft or opening. If a 
building in course of construction is five stories or more 
in height, no lumber or timber needed for such con- 
struction shall be hoisted or lifted on the outside of 
such building. The chief officer, in any city, charged 
with the enforcement of the building laws of such city 
and the factory inspector are hereby charged with en- 
forcing the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 505 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law and repeal chapter 
nine of the laws of nineteen hundred and one, rela- 
tive to the organization of the department of labor. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 151 

Became a law, June 15, 1907, with the approval of the Governor Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Chapter four hundred and fifteen of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled 
" An act in relation to labor, constituting chapter 
thirty two of the general laws," is hereby amended by 
inserting between articles one and two thereof a new 
article to be numbered article two and to read as fol- 
lows : 

ARTICLE II. 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. 

Section 30. Commissioner of labor. 

31. Deputy commissioners. 

32. Bureaus. 

33. Powers. 

34. Salaries and expenses. 

35. Sub-offices. 

36. Reports. 

37. Old records. 

Commissioner of Labor. 

Section 30. There shall continue to be a department 
of labor the head of which shall be the commissioner of 
labor who shall be appointed by the governor by and 
with the advice and consent of the senate and who shall 
hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first 
day of January of the year in which he is appointed. 
He shall receive an annual salary of five thousand dol- 
lars. He shall appoint all officers, clerks and other 
employees in the department of labor. Wherever the 
title of factory inspector is used in article one of this 
chapter or the title of commissioner of labor statistics 
in article four thereof it shall be construed to mean the 
commissioner of labor. 



152 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Deputy Commissioners.— 

Sec. 31. The commissioner of labor shall forthwith 
upon entering upon the duties of his office appoint and 
may at pleasure remove two deputy commissioners of 
labor, who shall receive such annual salaries, not to 
exceed three thousand dollars each, as may be appro- 
priated therefor. The powers hereinafter conferred 
upon the first and second deputy commissioners shall 
not include the appointment of officers, clerks or other 
employees in any of the bureaus of the department of 
labor. 

Bureaus.— 

Sec. 32. The department of labor shall be divided 
into three bureaus as follows: factory inspector, labor 
statistics and mediation and arbitration. 

Powers.— 

Sec. 33. Subdivision 1. The commissioner of labor, 
his deputies and their assistants and each special agent 
and deputy factory inspector may administer oaths and 
take affidavits in matters relating to the provisions of 
this chapter. 

Subd. 2. No person shall interfere with, obstruct 
or hinder by force or otherwise the commissioner of 
labor, his deputies, their assistants or the special agents 
or deputy factory inspectors while in the performance 
of their duties, or refuse to properly answer questions 
asked by such officers pertaining to the provisions of 
this chapter, or refuse them admittance to any place 
where and when labor is being performed which is 
affected by the provisions of this chapter. 

Subd. 3. All notices, orders and directions of depu- 
ties, assistants, special agents and deputy factory in- 
spectors given in accordance with this chapter are sub- 
ject to the approval of the commissioner of labor. And 



THE '• LABOR LAW." 153 

all acts, notices, orders, permits and directions by any 
provisions of this chapter directed to be performed or 
given by the factory inspector, chairman of the board 
of mediation and arbitration or other officer of the de- 
partment of labor may be performed or given by and m 
the name of the commissioner of labor and by any officer 
of the department thereunto duly authorized by such 
commissioner in the name of such commissioner. 

Subd. 4. The commissioner of labor may procure and 
cause to be used badges for himself and his subordinates 
in the department of labor while in the performance of 
their duties. 

Salaries and Expenses.— 

Sec. 34. All necessary expenses incurred by the 
commissioner of labor in the discharge of his duties 
shall be paid by the state treasurer upon the warrant 
of the comptroller issued upon proper vouchers there- 
for. The reasonable and necessary traveling and other 
expenses of the deputy commissioners, their assistants, 
the special agents and statisticians, the deputy factory 
inspectors and other field officers of the department 
while engaged in the performance of their duties shall 
be paid in like manner upon vouchers approved by the 
commissioner of labor and audited by the comptroller. 

Sub-offices.— 

Sec. 35. The commissioner of labor may establish 
and maintain a sub-office in any city of the first-class 
if in his opinion it be necessary. He may designate any 
one or more of his subordinates to take charge of and 
manage any such office, subject to his direction. The 
reasonable and necessary expenses of such office shall 
be paid as are other expenses of the commissioner of 
labor. 
Reports.— 

Sec. 36. The commissioner of labor shall report an- 
nually to the legislature. 



154: LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Old Records.— 

Sec. 37. All statistics furnished to and all com- 
plaints, reports and other documentary matter received 
by the commissioner of labor pursuant to this chapter 
or any act repealed or superseded thereby may be de- 
stroyed by such commissioner after the expiration of 
six years from the time of the receipt thereof. 

Counsel.— 

Sec. 38. The commissioner of labor may employ 
counsel in the department of labor to represent the 
department or to assist in the prosecution of actions 
or proceedings brought under the provisions of this 
chapter. Such counsel shall receive such compensation 
as may otherwise be provided by law. 



CHAPTER 158 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to repeal article three of the labor law, re- 
lating to free employment bureaus in cities of the 
first class. 

Became a law, April 6, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Article three consisting of sections forty, 
forty-one, forty-two and forty-three of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," is 
hereby repealed, and the free public employment bu- 
reaus established thereunder are hereby abolished. 

Sec. 2. Upon the abolition of such bureaus, the com- 
missioner of labor may apply to the other purposes of 



THE "LABOR LAW." 155 

his department any of the property of the state used 
in connection with such bureaus, or cause such property 
to be sold and pay the proceeds into the state treasury. 
The commissioner of labor may also transfer or assign 
all or any of the persons emplo3 r ed in such bureaus to 
such other positions and duties in the department of 
labor as he may deem proper, subject to law and the 
civil service rules, and may pay them salaries out of 
the appropriation heretofore made for such bureaus for 
the current fiscal year, and may apply the balance of 
such appropriation to the general office expenses of the 
department of labor or to the proper traveling expenses 
of any person employed therein, who is entitled to such 
expenses in accordance with law, and the balance thereof 
amounting to two thousand three hundred and seven 
dollars and twenty cents, is hereby re-appropriated for 
such purpose. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect May first, nineteen 
hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 505 OF 1907. 

Sec. 2. Article two of said chapter is hereby renumb- 
ered article three and amended to read as follows: 



ARTICLE III. 

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS. 

Section 40. Bureau of labor Statistics. 

41. Duties and powers. 

42. Statistics to be furnished upon request. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics.— 

Section 40. There shall continue to be a bureau of 
labor statistics, which shall be under the immediate 



156 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

charge of a chief statistician, but subject to the direction 
and supervision of the commissioner of labor. 

Duties and Powers.— 

Sec. 41. The commissioner of labor shall collect, 
assort, systematize and present in annual reports to the 
legislature, statistical details in relation to all depart- 
ments of labor in the state, especially in relation to the 
commercial, industrial, social and sanitary condition of 
workingmen and to the productive industries of the 
state. He may subpoena witnesses, take and hear testi- 
mony, take or cause to be taken depositions and admin- 
ister oaths. 

Statistics to be Furnished upon Bequest.— 

Sec. 42. The owner, operator, manager or lessee of 
any mine, factory, workshop, warehouse, elevator, foun- 
dry, machine shop or other manufacturing establish- 
ment, or any agent, superintendent, subordinate, or em- 
ployee thereof, and any person employing or directing 
any labor affected by the provisions of this chapter, 
shall, when requested by the commissioner of labor, fur- 
nish any information in his possession or under his con- 
trol which the commissioner is authorized to require, 
and shall admit him to any place where labor is carried 
on which is affected by the provisions of this chapter 
for the purpose of inspection. All statistics furnished 
to the commissioner of labor, pursuant to this article, 
may be destroyed by such commissioner after the ex- 
piration of two years from the time of the receipt there- 
of. A person refusing to admit such commissioner, or 
a person authorized by him, to any such establishment, 
or to furnish him any information requested, or who 
refuses to answer or untruthfully answers questions put 
to him by such commissioner, in a circular or otherwise, 
shall forfeit to the people of the state the sum of one 
hundred dollars for each refusal or untruthful answer 
given, to be sued for and recovered by the commissioner 



THE " LABOR LAW." 157 

in his name of office. The amount so recovered shall 
be paid in to the state treasury. 



CHAPTER 505 OF 1907. 

Section 3. Article five of said chapter, as amended 
by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the laws of 
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby amended 
to read as follows: 



ARTICLE V. 

BUREAU OF FACTORY INSPECTION. 

Section 60. Factory inspector. 

61. Deputies. 

62. General powers and duties. 

63. Reports. 

67. Duties relative to apprentices. 

68. Laws to be posted. 

Factory Inspector.— 

Section 60. There shall continue to be a bureau of 
factory inspection. The first deputy commissioner of 
labor shall be the factory inspector of the state and in 
immediate charge of this bureau, but subject to the di- 
rection and supervision of the commissioner of labor. 

Deputies.— 

Sec. 61. The commissioner of labor may appoint 
from time to time not more than sixty persons as deputy 
factory inspectors, not more than ten of whom shall be 
women, and who may be removed by him at any time. 
The deputy factory inspectors may be divided into three 
grades, but not more than five shall be of the third 
grade. Each deputy inspector of the first grade shall 
receive an annual salary of one thousand dollars, each 



158 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of the second grade an annual salary of one thousand 
two hundred dollars and each of the third grade an 
annual salary of one thousand five hundred dollars. 

General Powers and Duties;— 

Sec. 62. Subdivision 1. The commissioner of labor 
may divide the state into districts, assign one or more 
deputy factory inspectors to each district, and may in 
his discretion transfer them from one district to an- 
other ; he may assign any of them to inspect any special 
class or classes of factories or to enforce any special pro- 
visions of this chapter; and he may assign any one or 
more of them to act as clerks in any office of the de- 
partment. 

Subd. 2. The commissioner of labor may authorize 
any deputy commissioner or assistant and any special 
agent or inspector in the department of labor to act as 
a deputy factory inspector with the full power and au- 
thority thereof. 

Subd. 3. The commissioner of labor, the first deputy 
commissioner of labor and his assistant or assistants 
and every deputy or acting deputy factory inspector 
may in the discharge of his duties enter any place, build- 
ing or room where and when any labor is being per- 
formed which is affected by the provisions of this 
chapter, and may enter any factory whenever he may 
have reasonable cause to believe that any such labor is 
being performed therein. 

Subd. 4. The commissioner of labor shall visit and 
inspect or cause to be visited and inspected the factories, 
during reasonable hours, as often as practicable, and 
shall cause the provisions of this chapter to be en- 
forced therein. 

Subd. 5. Any lawful municipal ordinance, by-law or 



THE " LABOR LAW." 159 

regulation relating to factories, in addition to the pro- 
visions of this chapter and not in conflict therewith, may 
be observed and enforced by the commissioner of labor. 

Reports.— 

Sec. 63. The commissioner of labor shall make an 
annual report to the legislature of the operation of this 
bureau. 

Duties Relative to Apprentices.— 

Sec. 67. The commissioner of labor shall enforce 
the provisions of the domestic relations law, relative to 
indenture of apprentices, and prosecute employers for 
failure to comply with the provisions of such indentures 
and of such law in relation thereto. 

Laws to be Posted.— 

Sec. 68. A copy or abstract of the provisions of this 
chapter applicable thereto, to be prepared and furnished 
by the commissioner of labor, shall be kept posted by 
the employer in a conspicuous place on each floor of 
every factory where persons are employed who are 
affected by the provisions thereof. 



CHAPTER 518 OP 1905. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relative to the issuance 
of employment certificates for employees in factories 
and mercantile establishments. 

Became a law, May 17, 1905, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section seventy-one of chapter four hun- 



1G0 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor," 
constituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws as 
amended by chapter one hundred and eighty-four of the 
laws of nineteen hundred and three is hereby amended 
so as to read as follows : 

Employment of Certificate how Issued.— 

Sec. 71. Such certificate shall be issued by the com- 
missioner of health or the executive officer of the board 
or department of health of the city, town or village 
where such child resides, or is to be employed, or by 
such other officer thereof as may be designated by such 
board, department or commissioner for that purpose, 
npon the application of the parent or guardian or cus- 
todian of the child desiring such employment. Such 
officer shall not issue such certificate until he has re- 
ceived, examined, approved, and filed the following 
papers duly executed: (1) The school record of such 
child properly filled out and signed as provided in this 
article. (2) A passport or duly attested transcript 
of the certificate of birth or baptism or other religious 
record showing the date and place of birth of such child. 
A duly attested transcript of the birth certificate filed 
according to law with a registrar of vital statistics or 
other officer charged with the duty of recording births, 
shall be conclusive evidence of the age of such child. 
( 3 ) The affidavit of the parent or guardian or custodian 
of a child, which shall be required, however, only in case 
such last-mentioned transcript of the certificate of birth 
be not produced and filed, showing the place and date 
of birth of such child; which affidavit must be taken 
before the officer issuing the employment certificate, 
who is hereby authorized and required to administer 
such oath, and who shall not demand or receive a fee 
therefor. In case it shall appear to the satisfaction of 
the officer to whom application is made, as herein pro- 
vided, for an employment certificate, that a child for 



THE "LABOR LAW." 161 

whom such certificate is requested and who has pre- 
sented the school record and affidavit above provided 
for, is in fact over fourteen years of age and that satis- 
factory documentary evidence of such age can be pro- 
duced which does not fall within any of the provisions 
of subdivision two of this section, and that none of the 
papers mentioned in said subdivision exists or can be 
produced, then and not otherwise he shall present to the 
board of health of which he is an officer, or agent for 
its action thereon, a statement signed by him showing 
such facts, together with such affidavits or papers as 
may have been produced before him constituting such 
evidence of the age of such child, and the board of 
health, at a regular meeting thereof, may then, in its 
discretion, in a proper case, by resolution, provide that 
such evidence of age shall be fully entered on the min- 
utes of such board and shall be received in place of the 
papers specified and required by subdivision two of 
this section. On due proof, in like manner, that a child 
who is a graduate of a public school of the state of New 
York or elsewhere having a course of not less than 
eight years, or of a school in the state of New York other 
than a public school, having a substantially equivalent 
course of study of not less than eight years duration, 
and in which a record of the attendance of such child 
has been kept as required by the compulsory education 
law, and who produces and files a certificate of gradua- 
tion duly issued to him therefrom, and who is recorded in 
the school records as fourteen years of age, is unable 
to further produce the evidence of age required by sub- 
division two of this article, the board may, by resolution, 
permit the issuance to such child of an employment cer- 
tificate and dispense with such evidence of age as is 
in said subdivision provided. Such employment certifi- 
cate shall not be issued until such child farther has 
personally appeared before and been examined by the 
officer issuing the certificate, and until such officer shall, 
after making such examination, sign and file a state- 



162 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ment that the child can read and legibly write simple 
sentences in the English language and that in his opin- 
ion the child is fourteen years of age or upwards and has 
reached the normal development of a child of its age, 
and is in sound health and is physically able to perform 
the work which it intends to do. In doubtful cases 
such fitness shall be determined by a medical officer of 
the board or department of health. Every such em- 
ployment certificate shall be signed in the presence of 
the officer issuing the same, by the child in whose name 
it is issued. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 291 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to the issu* 
ance of employment certificates for children in fac- 
tories and mercantile establishments. 

Became a law, May 6, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of Neiv York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section seventy-one of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and eighty-four of the 
laws of nineteen hundred and three and chapter five 
hundred and eighteen of the laws of nineteen hundred 
and five, is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Employment Certificate how Issued. 

Sec. 71. Such certificate shall be issued by the com- 
missioner of health or the executive officer of the board 






THE "LABOR LAW." 163 

or department of health of the city, town or village 
where such child resides, or is to be employed, or by 
such other officer thereof as may be designated by such 
hoard, department or commissioner for that purpose, 
upon the application of the parent or guardian or cus- 
todian of the child desiring such employment. Such 
officer shall not issue such certificate until he has re- 
ceived, examined, approved, and filed the following 
papers duly executed, viz. : The school record of such 
child properly filled out and signed as provided in this 
article; also, evidence of age showing that the child 
is fourteen years old or upwards, which shall consist 
of the evidence thereof provided in one of the following 
subdivisions of this section and which shall be required 
in the order herein designated as follows: 

Birth Certificate. — 

(a) A duly attested transcript of the birth certifi- 
cate filed according to law with a registrar of vital sta- 
tistics or other officer charged with the duty of recording 
births, which certificate shall be conclusive evidence of 
the age of such child. 

Certificate of Graduation .— 

(b) A certificate of graduation duly issued to such 
child showing that such child is a graduate of a juiblie 
school of the state of New York or elsewhere, having a 
course of not less than eight years, or of a school in the 
state of New York other than a public school, having a 
substantially equivalent course of study of not less than 
eight years' duration, in which a record of the attend- 
ance of such child has been kept as required by the com- 
pulsory education law, provided that the record of such 
school shows such child to be at least fourteen years 
of age. 

Passport or Baptismal certificate.— 

(c) A passport or a duly attested transcript of a 



164 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

certificate of baptism showing the date of birth and 
place of baptism of such child. 

Other Documentary Evidence.— 

(d) In case it shall appear to the satisfaction of the 
officer to whom application is made, as herein provided, 
for an employment certificate, that a child for whom 
such certificate is requested, and who has presented the 
school record, is in fact over fourteen years of age, and 
that satisfactory documentary evidence of age can be 
produced, which does not fall within any of the provis- 
ions of the preceding subdivisions of this section, and 
that none of the papers mentioned in said subdivisions 
can be produced, then and not otherwise he shall pre- 
sent to the board of health of which he is an officer or 
agent, for its action thereon, a statement signed by 
him showing such facts, together with such affidavits or 
papers as may have been produced before him constitut- 
ing such evidence of the age of such child, and the board 
of health, at a regular meeting thereof, may then, by 
resolution, provide that such evidence of age shall be 
fully entered on the minutes of such board, and shall be 
received as sufficient evidence of the age of such child 
for the purpose of this section. 

Physicians' Certificates.— 

(e) In cities of the first class only in case applica- 
tion for the issuance of an employment certificate shall 
be made to such officer by a child's parent, guardian or 
custodian who alleges his inability to produce any of 
the evidence of age specified in the preceding sub- 
divisions of this section, and if the child is apparently 
at least fourteen years of age, such officer may receive 
and file an application signed by the parent, guardian or 
custodian of such child for physicians' certificates. 
Such application shall contain the alleged age, place 
and date of birth, and present residence of such child, 
together with such further facts as may be of assistance 



THE "LABOR LAW." 165 

in determining the age of such child. Such application 
shall be filed for not less than ninety days after date 
of such application for such physicians' certificates, 
for an examination to be made of the statements con- 
tained therein, and in case no facts appear within such 
period or by such examination tending to discredit or 
contradict any material statement of such application, 
then and not otherwise the officer may direct such child 
to appear thereafter for physical examination before 
two physicians officially designated by the board of 
health, and in case such physicians shall certify in writ- 
ing that they have separately examined such child and 
that in their opinion such child is at least fourteen years 
of age such officer shall accept such certificates as suf- 
ficient proof of the age of such child for the purposes of 
this section. In case the opinions of such physicians 
do not concur, the child shall be examined by a third 
physician and the concurring opinions shall be con- 
clusive for the purpose of this section as to the age 
of such child. 

Such officer shall require the evidence of age specified 
in subdivision (a) in preference to that specified in any 
subsequent subdivision and shall not accept the evidence 
of age permitted by any subsequent subdivision unless 
he shall receive and file in addition thereto an affidavit 
of the parent showing that no evidence of age specified 
in any preceding subdivision or subdivisions of this 
section can be produced. Such affidavit shall contain 
the age, place and date of birth, and present residence 
of such child, which affidavit must be taken before the 
officer issuing the employment certificate, who is hereby 
authorized arid required to administer such oath and 
who shall not demand or receive a fee therefor. Such 
employment certificate shall not be issued until such 
child farther has personally appeared before and been 
examined by the officer issuing the certificate, and until 
such officer shall, after making such examination, sign 
and file in his office a statement that the child can read 



166 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and legibly write simple sentences in the English lan- 
guage and that in his opinion the child is fourteen years 
of age or upwards and has reached the normal develop- 
ment of a child of its age, and is in sound health and is 
physically able to perform the work which it intends to 
do. In doubtful cases such physical fitness shall be 
determined by a medical officer of the board or depart- 
ment of health. Every such employment certificate shall 
be signed, in the presence of the officer issuing the same, 
by the child in whose name it is issued. 

Sec. 2. Section seventy-three of said chapter, as 
amended by chapter one hundred and eighty-four of the 
laws of nineteen hundred and three, is hereby amended 
to read as follows : 

School Record, what to Contain.— 

Sec. 73. The school record required by this article 
shall be signed by the principal or chief executive officer 
of the school which such child has attended and shall be 
furnished, on demand, to a child entitled thereto or to 
the board, department or commissioners of health. It 
shall contain a statement certifying that the child has 
regularly attended the public schools or schools equiva- 
lent thereto or parochial schools for not less than one 
hundred and thirty days during the twelve months next 
preceding his fourteenth birthday, or during the twelve 
months next preceding his application for such school 
record and is able to read and write simple sentences in 
the English language, and has received during such 
period instruction in reading, spelling, writing, English 
grammar and geography and is familiar with the funda- 
mental operations of arithmetic up to and including 
fractions. Such school record shall also give the date 
of birth and residence of the child as shown on the 
records of the school and the name of its parent or guar- 
dian or custodian. 

Sec. 5. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



THE "LABOR LAV//' 167 



CHAPTER 493 OF 1905. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relative to the evidence 
of age of minor employees in factories, mercantile and 
other establishments. 

Became a law, May 17, 1905, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths peing present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section seventy-six of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven entitled " An Act in relation to labor con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws " as 
amended by chapter one hundred and eighty-four of the 
laws of nineteen hundred and three, is hereby amended 
so as to read as follows : 

Registry of Children Employed.— 

Sec. 76. Each person owning or operating a factory 
and employing children therein shall keep, or cause to 
be kept in the office of such factory, a register, in which 
shall be recorded the name, birthplace, age and place of 
residence of all children so employed under the age of 
sixteen years. Such register and the certificate filed in 
such office shall be produced for inspection upon the 
demand of the commissioner of labor. On termination 
of the employment of a child so registered, and whose 
certificate is so filed, such certificate shall be forthwith 
surrendered by the employer to the child or its parent 
or guardian or custodian. The commissioner of labor 
may make demand on an employer in whose factory a 
child apparently under the age of sixteen years is em- 
ployed or permitted or suffered to work, and whose em- 
ployment certificate is not then filed as required by this 



168 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

article, that such employer shall either furnish him 
within ten days, evidence satisfactory to him that such 
child is in fact over sixteen years of age, or shall cease 
to employ or permit or suffer such child to work in 
such factory. The commissioner of labor may require 
from such employer the same evidence of age of such 
child as is required on the issuance of an employment 
certificate; and the employer furnishing such evidence 
shall not be required to furnish any further evidence 
of the age of the child. A notice embodying such de- 
mand may be served on such employer personally or 
may be sent by mail addressed to him at said factory, 
and if served by post shall be deemed to have been 
served at the time when the letter containing the same 
would be delivered in the ordinary course of the post. 
When the employer is a corporation such notice may be 
served either personally upon an officer of such corpora- 
tion, or by sending it by post addressed to the office or 
the principal place of business of such corporation. The 
papers constituting such evidence of age furnished by 
the employer in response to such demand shalj be filed 
with the commissioner of labor and a material false 
statement made in any such paper or affidavit by any 
person, shall be a misdemeanor. In case such employer 
shall fail to produce and deliver to the commissioner of 
labor within ten days after such demand such evidence 
of age herein required by him, and shall thereafter con- 
tinue to employ such child or permit or suffer such 
child to work in such factory, proof of the giving of 
such notice and of such failure to produce and file such 
evidence shall be prima facie evidence in any prosecu- 
tion brought for a violation of this article that such 
child is under sixteen years of age and is unlawfully 
employed. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 169 



CHAPTER 490 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relative to the hours 
of employment in factories and mercantile establish- 
ments. 

Became a law, May 17, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of Neiv York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section seventy-seven of chapter four 
hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, and by chap- 
ter one hundred and eighty-four of the laws of nineteen 
hundred and three is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Hours of Labor of Minors and Women. — 

Sec. 77. No minor under the age of sixteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any 
factory in this state before six o'clock in the morning 
or after seven "o'clock in the evening of any day, or for 
more than nine hours in any one day. No minor under 
the age of eighteen years, and no female shall be em- 
ployed, permitted or suffered to work in any factory in 
this state before six o'clock in the morning, or after 
nine o'clock in the evening of any day ; or for more than 
ten hours in any one day except to make a shorter work 
day on the last day of the week ; or for more than sixty 
hours in any one week, or more hours in any one week 
than will make an average of ten hours per day for the 
whole number of days so worked. A printed notice, in 
a form which shall be prescribed and furnished by the 



170 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

commissioner of labor, stating the number of hours per 
day for each day of the week required of such persons, 
and the time when such work shall begin and end, shall 
be kept posted in a conspicuous place in each room 
where they are employed. But such persons may begin 
their work after the time for beginning and stop before 
the time for ending such work, mentioned in such notice, 
but they shall not otherwise be employed, permitted or 
suffered to work in such factory except as stated therein. 
The terms of such notice shall not be changed after the 
beginning of labor on the first day of the week without 
the consent of the commissioner of labor. The presence 
of such persons at work in the factory at any other hours 
than those stated in the printed notice shall constitute 
prima facie evidence of a violation of this section of the 
law. 

Sec. 4. This act shall take effect October 1st, 1908. 



CHAPTER 286 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relative to the hours 
of employment of minors in factories. 

Became a law, May 4, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloics: 

Section 1. Section seventy-seven of chapter four 
hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, by chapter 
one hundred and eighty-four of the laws of nineteen 



THE » LABOR LAW." 171 

hundred and three, and by chapter four hundred and 
ninety of the laws of nineteen hundred and six, is hereby 
amended to read as follows : 

Hours of Labor of Minors and Women.— 

Sec. 77. No minor under the age of sixteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in any 
factory iu this state before eight o'clock in the morning, 
or after five o'clock in the evening of any day, or for 
more than eight hours in any one day. No minor under 
the age of eighteen years, and no female shall be em- 
ployed, permitted or suffered to work in any factory in 
this state before six o'clock in the morning, or after 
nine o'clock in the evening of any day; or for more than 
ten hours in any one day except to make a shorter work 
day on the last day of the week ; or for more than sixty 
hours in any one week, or more hours in any one week 
ill an will make an average of ten hours per day for the 
whole number of days so worked. A printed notice, in 
a form which shall be prescribed and furnished by the 
commissioner of labor, stating the number of hours per 
day for each day of the week required of such persons, 
and the time when such work shall begin and end, shall 
be kept posted in a conspicuous place in each room 
where they are employed. But such persons may begin 
their work after the time for beginning and stop before 
the time for ending such work, mentioned in such notice, 
but they shall not otherwise be employed, permitted or 
suffered to work in such factory except as stated therein. 
The terms of such notice shall not be changed after the 
beginning of labor on the first day of the week without 
the consent of the commissioner of labor. The presence 
of such persons at work in the factory at any other hours 
than those stated in the printed notice shall constitute 
prima facie evidence of a violation of this section of the 
law. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect January first, nine- 
teen hundred and eii>ht. 



172 LABOK, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



CHAPTER 507 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to hours of 
labor of children, minors and women. 

Became a law, June 15, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section seventy-seven of chapter four 
hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and chapter 
one hundred and eighty-four of the laws of nineteen hun- 
dred and three and chapter four hundred and ninety of 
the laws of nineteen hundred and six, is hereby amended 
to read as follows : 

Hours of Labor of Children, Minors and Women. 

Sec. 77. Subd. 1. No child under the age of sixteen 
years shall be employed or permitted to work in or in 
connection with any factory in this state before eight 
o'clock in the morning, or after five o'clock in the even- 
ing of any day, or for more than eight hours in any one 
day, or more than six days in any one week. 

Subd. 2. No male minor under the age of eighteen 
years shall be employed or permitted to work in any 
factory in this state more than six days or sixty hours 
in any one week, or for more than ten hours in any one 
day, except as hereafter provided ; nor between the hours 
of twelve midnight and four o'clock in the morning. 

Subd. 3. No female minor under the age of twenty- 
one years and no woman shall be employed or permitted 



THE -LABOR LAW." 173 

to work in any factory in this state before six o'clock in 
the morning, or after nine o'clock in the evening of any 
day, or more than six days or sixty hours in any one 
week ; nor for more than ten hours in any one day except 
as hereafter provided. 

Sued. 4. A printed notice, in a form which shall be 
furnished by the commissioner of labor, stating the 
number of hours per day for each day of the week re- 
quired of such persons, and the time when such work 
shall begin and end, shall be kept posted in a conspicu- 
ous place in each room where they are employed. But 
such persons may begin their work after the time for 
beginning and stop before the time for ending such 
work, mentioned in such notice, but they shall not other- 
wise be employed, permitted or suffered to work in such 
factory except as stated therein. The terms of such 
notice shall not be changed after the beginning of labor 
on the first day of the week without the consent of the 
commissioner of labor. The presence of such persons 
in the factory at any other hours than those stated in 
the printed notice, or if no such notice be posted, before 
seven o'clock in the morning, or after six o'clock in the 
evening, shall constitute prima facie evidence of a viola- 
tion of this section. 

Subd. 5. In a factory wherein, owing to the nature 
of the work, it is practically impossible to fix the hours 
of labor weekly in advance the commissioner of labor, 
upon a proper application staring facts showing the 
necessity therefor, shall grant a permit dispensing with 
the notice hereinbefore required, upon condition that 
the daily hours of labor be posted for the information of 
employees and that a time book in a form to be approved 
by him, giving the names and addresses of all female 
employees and the hours worked by each of them in 
each day, shall be properly and correctly kept, and shall 
be exhibited to him or any of his subordinates promptly 
upon demand. Such permit shall be kept posted in such 



174 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

place in such factory as such commissioner may pre- 
scribe, and may be revoked by such commissioner at any 
time for failure to post it or the daily hours of labor or 
to keep or exhibit such time book as herein proyided. 

Subd. 6. Where a female or male minor is employed 
in two or more factories or mercantile establishments in 
the same day or week the total time of employment must 
not exceed that allowed per day or week in a single 
factory or mercantile establishment; and any person 
who shall require or permit a female to work in a fac- 
tory between the hours of six o'clock in the evening and 
seven o'clock in the morning in violation of the pro- 
visions of this subdivision of this section, with or with- 
out knowledge of the previous or other employment, 
shall be liable for a violation thereof. 

Sec. 2. Section seventy-eight of said act, as amended 
by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the laws of 
eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and chapter one hun- 
dred and eighty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred 
and three, is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Exceptions.— 

Sec. 78. Subdivision 1. A female sixteen years of 
age or upwards and a male between the ages of sixteen 
and eighteen may be employed in a factory more than 
ten hours a day; — (a) regularly in not to exceed five 
days a week in order to make a short day or a holiday on 
one of the six working days of the week; (b) irregularly 
in not to exceed three days a week; provided that no 
such person shall be required or permitted to work more 
than twelve hours in any one day or more than sixty 
hours in any one week, and that the provisions of the 
preceding section as to notice or time book be fully 
complied with. 

Subd. 2. In a prosecution for a violation of any pro- 
vision of this or of the preceding section the burden of 
proving a permit or exception shall be put upon the 
party claiming it. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 1?5 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



CHAPTER 366 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to the use of 
exhaust fans in factories. 

Became a law, May 10, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section eighty-one of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and ninety-two of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and chapter 
two hundred and ninety-one of the laws of nineteen 
hundred and four, is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Protection of Employees operating Machinery. — 

Sec. 81. The owner or person in charge of a factory 
where machinery is used, shall provide, in the discretion 
of the commissioner of labor, belt shifters or other me- 
chanical contrivances for the purpose of throwing on or 
off belts on pulleys. Whenever practicable, all machin- 
ery shall be provided with loose pulleys. All vats, pans, 
saws, planers, cogs, gearing, belting, shafting, set-screws 
and machinery, of every description shall be properly 
guarded. No person shall remove or make ineffective 
any safeguard around or attached to machinery, vats, 
or pans, while the same are in use, unless for the pur- 
pose of immediately making repairs thereto, and all 
such safeguards so removed shall be promptly replaced. 



176 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Exhaust fans of sufficient power shall be provided for 
the purpose of carrying off dust from emery wheels, 
grindstones and other machinery creating dust; except 
where in case of woodworking machinery the commis- 
sioner of labor after first making and filing in the public 
records of his office a written statement of the reasons 
therefor shall decide that it is unnecessary for the 
health and welfare of the operatives. If a machine or 
any part thereof is in a dangerous condition or is not 
properly guarded, the use thereof may be prohibited by 
the commissioner of labor and a notice to that effect 
shall be attached thereto. Such notice shall not be re- 
moved until the machine is made safe and the required 
safeguards are provided and in the meantime such un- 
safe or dangerous machinery shall not be used. When 
in the opinion of the commissioner of labor it is neces- 
sary, the workrooms, halls and stairs leading to the 
workrooms shall be properly lighted, and in cities of the 
first class, if deemed necessary by the commissioner of 
labor, a proper light shall be kept burning by the owner 
or lessee in the public hallways near the stairs upon 
the entrance floor and upon the other floors on every 
work day in the year, from the time when the building 
is opened for use in the morning until the time it is 
closed in the evening, except at times when the influx 
of natural light shall make artificial light unnecessary. 
Such lights to be independent of the motive power of 
such factory. No male person under eighteen years or 
woman under twenty-one years of age shall be permitted 
or directed to clean machinery while in motion. Chil- 
dren under sixteen years of age shall not be permitted 
to operate or assist in operating dangerous machines of 
any kind. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 177 



CHAPTER 490 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to ventilation 
of factories. 

Became a law, June 11, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of Netv York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Section eighty-six of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," is 
hereby amended to read as follows: 

Ventilation.— 

Sec. 86. The owner, agent or lessee of a factory shall 
provide, in each workroom thereof, proper and sufficient 
means of ventilation, and shall maintain proper and suf- 
ficient ventilation; if excessive heat be created or if 
steam, gases, vapors, dust or other impurities that 
may be injurious to health be generated in the course 
of the manufacturing process carried on therein the 
room must be ventilated in such a manner as to render 
them harmless, so far as is practicable ; in case of failure 
the commissioner of labor shall order such ventilation 
to be provided. Such owner, agent or lessee shall pro- 
vide such ventilation within twenty days after the 
service upon him of such order, and in case of failure, 
shall forfeit to the people of the state, ten dollars for 
each day after the expiration of such twenty days, to be 
recovered by the commissioner of labor. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



178 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



CHAPTER 216 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to the report- 
ing of accidents. 

Became a law, April 12, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section eighty-seven of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," is 
hereby amended to read as follows: 

Accidents to be Reported.— 

Sec. 87. The person in charge of any factory shall 
report in writing to the commissioner of labor all deaths, 
accidents, or injuries sustained by any person therein or 
on the premises, within forty-eight hours after the time 
of the accident, death or injury, stating as fully as pos- 
sible the cause of the death or the extent and cause of 
the injury, and the place where the injured person has 
been sent, with such other or further information rela- 
tive thereto as may be required by the said commissioner, 
who may investigate the causes thereof and require 
such precautions to be taken as will prevent the recur- 
rence of similar happenings. No statement contained 
in any such report shall be admissible in evidence in any 
action arising out of the death or accident therein 
reported. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 179 



CHAPTER 485 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to providing 
wash-rooms in foundries. 

Became a law, June 11, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 

Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section eighty-eight of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter three hundred and six of the laws 
of nineteen hundred and one, is hereby amended to read 
as follows: 

Wash-room and Water-closets.— 

Sec. 88. Every factory shall contain a suitable, con- 
venient and separate water-closet or water-closets for 
each sex, which shall be properly screened, ventilated, 
and kept clean and free from all obscene writing or 
marking; and also, a suitable and convenient wash- 
room. The water-closets used by women shall have 
separate approaches. Inside closets shall be maintained 
whenever practicable and in all cases when required by 
the commissioner of labor. When women or girls are 
employed, a dressing-room shall be provided for them, 
when required by the commissioner of labor. In all 
brass and iron foundries there shall be provided and 
maintained for the use of employees, suitable wash- 
rooms with proper water service, and suitable provision 
for drying of the working clothes of persons using 
the same. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



180 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

CHAPTER 178 OF 1906. 
AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to factories. 

Became a law, April 10, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Article six of chapter four hundred and 
fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, constituting 
chapter thirty-two of the general laws/' is hereby 
amended by adding at the end thereof two new sections, 
to be sections ninety-four and ninety-five, and to read 
as follows: 

Tenant-Factories.— 

Sec. 94. A tenant-factory within the meaning of the 
term as used in this chapter is a building, separate parts 
of which are occupied and used by different persons, 
companies or corporations, and one or more of which 
parts is so used as to constitute in law a factory. The 
owner, whether or not he is also one of the occupants, 
instead of the respective lessees or tenants, shall be 
responsible for the observance and punishable for the 
nonobservance of the following provisions of this 
article, anything in any lease to the contrary notwith- 
standing, — namely the provisions of sections seventy- 
nine, eighty, eighty-two, eighty-three, eighty-six, ninety 
and ninety-one, and the provisions of section eighty-one 
with respect to the lighting of halls and stairways; 
except that the lessees or tenants also shall be respon- 

1 sible for the observance and punishable for the non- 
observance of the provisions of sections seventy-nine 

i and ninety-one within their respective holdings. The 



THE " LABOR LAW." 181 

owner of every tenant-factory shall provide each sepa- 
rate factory therein with water-closets in accordance 
with the provisions of section eighty-eight, and with 
proper and sufficient water and plumbing pipes and a 
proper and sufficient supply of water to enable the 
tenant or lessee thereof to comply with all the pro- 
visions of said section. But as an alternative to pro- 
viding water-closets within each factory as aforesaid, 
the owner may provide in the public hallways or other 
parts of the premises used in common, where they will 
be at all times readily and conveniently accessible to 
all persons employed on the premises not provided for 
in accordance with section eighty-eight, separate water- 
closets for each sex, of sufficient numbers to accom- 
modate all such persons. Such owner shall keep all 
water-closets located as last specified at all times pro- 
vided with proper fastenings, and properly screened, 
lighted, ventilated, clean, sanitary and free from all 
obscene writing or marking. Outdoor water-closets 
shall only be permitted where the commissioner of labor 
shall decide that they are necessary or preferable, and 
they shall then be provided in all respects in accordance 
with his directions. The owner of every tenant-factory 
shall keep the entire building well drained and the 
plumbing thereof in a clean and sanitary condition; 
and shall keep the cellar, basement, yards, areaways, 
vacant rooms and spaces, and all parts and places used 
in common in a clean, sanitary and safe condition, and 
shall keep such parts thereof as may reasonably be 
required by the commissioner of labor properly lighted 
at all hours or times when said building is in use for 
factory purposes. The term owner as used in this 
article shall be construed to mean the owner or owners 
of the freehold of the premises, or the lessee or joint 
lessees of the whole thereof, or his, her or their agent in 
charge of the property. The lessee or tenant of any 
part of a tenant-factory shall permit the owner, his 
agents and servants, to enter and remain upon the 



182 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

demised premises whenever and so long as may be 
necessary to comply with the provisions of law, the re- 
sponsibility for which is by this section placed upon the 
owner; and his failure or refusal so to do shall be a 
cause for dispossessing said tenant by summary pro- 
ceedings to recover possession of real property, as pro- 
vided in the code of civil procedure. And whenever by 
the terms of a lease any lessee or tenant shall have 
agreed to comply with or carry out any of such pro- 
visions, his failure or refusal so to do shall be a cause 
for dispossessing said tenant by summary proceedings 
as aforesaid. Except as in this article otherwise pro- 
vided the person or persons, company or corporation 
conducting or operating a factory whether as owner or 
lessee of the whole or of a part of the building in which 
the same is situated or otherwise, shall be responsible 
for the observance and punishable for the nonobservance 
of the provisions of this article, anything in any lease 
or agreement to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Unclean Tenant-Factories. — 

Sec. 95. If the commissioner of labor finds evidence 
of contagious disease present in any tenant-factory in 
which any of the articles enumerated in section one 
hundred hereof are manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished he shall affix to any such articles exposed to 
such contagion a label containing the word " unclean " 
and shall notify the local board of health, who may 
disinfect such articles and thereupon remove such label. 
If the commissioner of labor finds any of the articles 
specified in said section one hundred in any workroom 
or factory in a tenant-factory which is foul, unclean, 
or unsanitary, he may, after first making and filing in 
the public records of his office a written order stating 
the reasons therefor, affix to such articles a label con- 
taining the word " unclean." No one but the com- 
missioner of labor shall remove any label so affixed ; and 
he mav refuse to remove it until such articles shall have 



THE " LABOR LAW." 183 

been removed from such factory and cleaned, or until 
such room or rooms shall have been cleaned or made 
sanitary. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 129 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to labor in 

tenements. 

Became a law, April 3, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Section one hundred of chapter four 
hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred 
and ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, 
constituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter one hundred and ninety-one of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and chapter 
five hundred and fifty of the laws of nineteen hundred 
and four, is hereby amended to read as follows: 

Manufacturing, Altering, Repairing or Finishing Articles in 
Tenements.— 

Sec. 100. No tenement-house nor any part thereof 
shall be used for the purpose of manufacturing, alter- 
ing, repairing or finishing therein, any coats, vests, 
knee-pants, trousers, overalls, cloaks, hats, caps, 
suspenders, jerseys, blouses, dresses, waists, waistbands, 
rnderwear, neckwear, furs, fur trimmings, fur gar- 
ments, skirts, shirts, aprons, purses, pocketbooks, slip- 
pers, paper boxes, paper bags, feathers, artificial 
flowers, cigarettes, cigars, umbrellas, or articles of 
rubber, nor for the purpose of manufacturing, pre- 



184 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

paring, or packing macaroni, spaghetti, ice cream, ices, 
candy, confectionery, nuts, or preserves, without a 
license therefor as provided in this article. But nothing 
herein contained shall apply to collars, cuffs, shirts or 
shirt waists made of cotton or linen fabrics that are 
subjected to the laundrying process before being offered 
for sale. Application for such a license shall be made 
to the commissioner of labor by the owner of such tene- 
ment-house, or by his duly authorized agent. Such 
application shall describe the house by the street num- 
ber or otherwise, as the case may be, in such manner 
as will enable the commissioner of labor easily to find 
the same; it shall also state the number of apartments 
in such house; it shall contain the full name and 
address of the owner of the said house, and shall be in 
such form as the commissioner of labor may determine. 
Blank applications shall be prepared and furnished by 
the commissioner of labor. Upon receipt of such appli- 
cation the commissioner of labor shall consult the 
records of the local health department or board, or other 
appropriate local authority charged with the duty of 
sanitary inspection of such houses; if such records 
show the presence of any infectious, contagious or com- 
municable disease, or the existence of any uncomplied 
with orders or violations which indicate the presence 
of unsanitary conditions in such house, the commis- 
sioner of labor, may, without making an inspection of 
the building, deny such application for a license, and 
may continue to deny such application until such time 
as the records of said department, board or other local 
authority show that the said tenement-house is free 
from the presence of infectious, contagious or com- 
municable disease, and from all unsanitary conditions. 
Before, however, any such license is granted, an in- 
spection of the building sought to be licensed must be 
made by the commissioner of labor, and a statement 
must be filed by him as a matter of public record, to the 
effect that the records of the local health department 



THE " LABOR LAW." 185 

or board or other appropriate authority charged with 
the duty of sanitary inspection of such house, show the 
existence of no infectious, contagious or communicable 
disease nor of any unsanitary conditions in the said 
house ; such statement must be dated and signed in ink 
with the full name of the employee responsible there- 
for. A similar statement similarly signed, showing the 
results of the inspection of the said building must also 
be filed in the office of the commissioner of labor before 
any license is granted. If the commissioner of labor 
ascertain that such building is free from infectious, 
contagious or communicable disease, that there are no 
defects of plumbing that will permit the free entrance 
of sewer air, that such building is in a clean and proper 
sanitary condition and that the articles specified in 
tli is section may be manufactured therein under clean 
and healthful conditions, he shall grant a license per- 
mitting the use of such building, for the purpose of 
manufacturing, altering, repairing or finishing such 
articles. Such license shall be framed, such frame to 
be furnished by the commissioner of labor upon receipt 
by him of one dollar for which a receipt in writing 
shall be given, and shall be |)osted by the owner in a 
conspicuous place in the public hallway on the entrance 
floor of the building to which it relates. It may be 
revoked by the commissioner of labor if the health of 
the community or of the employees requires it, or if the 
owner of the said tenement-house, or his duly authorized 
agent fails to comply with the orders of the commis- 
sioner of labor within ten days after the receipt of such 
orders, or if it appears that the building to which such 
license relates is not in a healthy and proper sanitary 
condition. In every case where a license is revoked or 
denied by the commissioner of labor the reasons there- 
for shall be stated in writing, and the records of such 
revocation or denial shall be deemed public records. 
Where a license is revoked, before such tenement-house 
can again be used for the purposes specified in this 



ISQ LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

section, a new license must be obtained, as if no license 
had previously existed. Every tenement-house and all 
the parts thereof in which any of the articles named in 
this section are manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition 
and shall be subject to inspection and examination by 
the commissioner of labor, for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing whether said garments or articles or part or parts 
thereof, are clean and free from vermin and every 
matter of an infectious or contagious nature. An in- 
spection shall be made by the commissioner of labor of 
each licensed tenement-house not less than once in every 
six months, to determine its sanitary condition, and 
shall include all parts of such house and the plumbing 
thereof. Before making such inspection the commis- 
sioner of labor may consult the records of the local 
department or board charged with the duty of sanitary 
inspection of tenement-houses, to determine the fre- 
quency of orders issued by such department or board 
in relation to the said tenement-house, since the last 
inspection of such building was made by the commis- 
sioner of labor. Whenever the commissioner of labor 
finds any unsanitary condition in a tenement-house for 
which a license has been issued as provided in this 
section, he shall at once issue an order to the owner 
thereof directing him to remedy such condition forth- 
with. Whenever the commissioner of labor finds any 
of the articles specified in this section manufactured, 
altered, repaired or finished, or in process thereof, in 
a room or apartment of a tenement-house, and such 
room or apartment is in a filthy condition, he shall 
notify the tenants thereof to immediately clean the 
same, and to maintain it in a cleanly condition at all 
times; where the commmissioner of labor finds such 
room or apartment to be habitually kept in a filthy con- 
dition, he may in his discretion cause to be affixed to 
the entrance door of such apartment a placard calling 
attention to such facts and prohibiting the manu- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 187 

facture, alteration, repair or finishing of said articles 
therein. No person, except the commissioner of labor, 
shall remove or deface any such placard so affixed. 
None of the articles specified in this section shall be 
manufactured, altered, repaired or finished in any 
room or apartment of a tenement-house, where there is 
or has been a case of infectious, contagious or com- 
municable disease in such room or apartment, until 
such time as the local department or board of health 
shall certify to the commissioner of labor that such 
disease has terminated, and that the said room or apart- 
ment has been properly disinfected, if disinfection after 
such disease is required by the local ordinances, or by 
the rules or regulations of such department or board. 
None of the articles specified in this section shall be 
manufactured, altered, repaired, or finished in a part 
of a cellar or basement of a tenement-house, which is 
more than one-half of its height below the level of the 
curb or ground outside of or adjoining the same. No 
person shall hire, employ or contract with any person 
to manufacture, alter, repair or finish any of the 
articles named in this section in any room or apartment 
in any tenement-house not having a license therefor, 
issued as aforesaid. None of the articles specified in 
this section shall be manufactured, altered, repaired or 
finished in any room or apartment of a tenement-house 
unless said room or apartment shall be well lighted and 
ventilated and shall contain at least five hundred cubic 
feet of air space for every person working therein, or by 
any person other than the members of the family living 
therein ; except that in licensed tenement-houses persons 
not members of the family may be employed in apart- 
ments on the ground floor or second floor, used only for 
shops of dressmakers who deal solely in the custom trade 
direct to the consumer, provided that such apartments 
shall be in the opinion of the commissioner of labor 
in the highest degree sanitary, well lighted, well venti- 
lated and plumbed, and provided further that the whole 



188 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

number of persons therein shall not exceed one to each 
one thousand cubic feet of air space, and that there 
shall be no children under fourteen years of age living 
or working therein ; before any such room or apartment 
can be so used a special permit therefor shall be issued 
by the commissioner of labor, a copy of which shall be 
entered in his public records with a statement of the 
reasons therefor. Nothing in this section contained 
shall prevent the employment of a tailor or seamstress 
by any person or family for the purpose of making, 
altering, repairing or finishing any article of wearing 
apparel for the use of such person or family. Nor 
shall this section apply to a house if the only work 
therein on the articles herein specified be carried on in a 
shop on the main or ground floor thereof with a separate 
entrance to the street, unconnected with living rooms 
and entirely separate from the rest of the building by 
closed partitions without any openings whatsoever and 
not used for sleeping or cooking. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 275 OF 190G. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to the labeling 
of goods unlawfully manufactured. 

Became a law, April 19, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented 
in Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Section one hundred and two of chapter 
four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred 
and ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, 
constituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 



THE " LABOR LAW." 189 

amended by chapter oiie hundred and ninety-one of 
the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby 
amended <<> read as follows: 

Goods Unlawfully Manufactured to be Labeled. — 

SEC. 102. Articles manufactured, altered, repaired, 
or finished contrary to the provisions of section one 
hundred of this chapter, shall not be sold or exposed for 
sale by any person. The commissioner of labor may 
conspicuously affix to any such article found to be 
unlawfully manufactured, altered, repaired or finished, 
a label containing the words tenement made printed in 
small pica capital letters on a tag not less than four 
inches in length, or may seize and hold such article 
until the same shall be disinfected or cleaned at the 
owner's expense. The commissioner of labor shall 
notify the person stated by the person in possession of 
said article to be the owner therof, that he has so labeled 
or seized it. No person except the commissioner of 
labor shall remove or deface any tag or label so affixed. 
Unless the owner or person entitled to the possession of 
an article so seized shall provide for the disinfection or 
cleaning thereof within one month therafter it may be 
destroyed. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect Oct. first, nineteen 
hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 505 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law and repeal chapter 
nine of the laws of nineteen hundred and one, relative 
to the organization of the department of labor. Be- 
came a law June 15th, 1907. 

Sec. 5. Section one hundred and six of said chapter, 
as amended by chapter four hundred and seventy-five of 
the laws of nineteen hundred and one, is hereby re- 
pealed. 



190 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Sec. 6. Chapter nine of the laws of nineteen hundred 
and one, entitled " An act to create a department of 
labor and the office of commissioner of labor, and abol- 
ishing the offices of commissioner of labor statistics and 
factory inspector, and the state board of mediation and 
arbitration," is hereby repealed. 

Sec. 7. This act shall take effect immediately. 

CHAPTER 401 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to bakeries 
and confectioneries. 

Became a law, May 10, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Sections one hundred and eleven, and one 
hundred and fourteen of chapter four hundred and 
fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, 
entitled " An act in relation to labor, constituting 
chapter thirty-two of the general laws," are hereby 
amended to read respectively as follows : 

Drainage and Plumbing of Buildings and Booms Occupied 
by Bakeries. — 

Sec. 111. All buildings or rooms occupied as biscuit, 
bread, macaroni, spaghetti, pie or cake bakeries, shall be 
drained and plumbed in a manner conducive to the 
proper and healthful sanitary condition thereof, and 
shall be constructed with air shafts, windows or ventilat- 
ing pipes, sufficient to insure adequate and proper venti- 
lation. No cellar or basement, shall be occupied or used, 
as a bakery, unless the proprietor shall comply with the 
provisions of this article, except that any cellar or base- 
ment less than eight feet in height which was used for a 
bakery on the second day of May, eighteen hundred 



THE " LABOR LAW." 191 

and ninety-five, need not be altered to conform to the 
provision with respect to height of rooms. Basements 
or cellars used as confectionery and ice cream manu- 
facturing shops, shall be not less than seven feet in 
height. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 418 OP 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to 
confectioneries. 

Became a law, June 5, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section one hundred and eleven of 
chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation 
to labor, constituting chapter thirty-two of the general 
laws," as amended by chapter four hundred and one of 
the laws of nineteen hundred and six, is hereby amended 
to read as follows : 

Drainage and Plumbing of Buildings and Rooms Occupied 
by Bakeries.— 

Sec. 111. All buildings or rooms occupied as biscuit, 
bread, macaroni, spaghetti, pie or cake bakeries, shall 
be drained and plumbed in a manner conducive to the 
proper and healthful sanitary condition thereof, and 
shall be constructed with air shafts, windows or venti- 
lating pipes, sufficient to insure adequate and proper 
ventilation. No cellar or basement, shall be occupied or 
used, as a bakery, unless the proprietor shall comply 



192 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

with the provisions of this article, except that any cellar 
or basement less than eight feet in height which was 
used for a bakery on the second day of May, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-five, need not be altered to conform 
to the provision with respect to height of rooms. Base- 
ments or cellars used as confectionery and ice cream 
manufacturing shops, shall be not less than seven feet 
in height ; except that any cellar or basement more than 
six feet in height which was used as a confectionery or 
ice cream manufacturing shop before October first, 
nineteen hundred and six, need not be altered to con- 
form with this provision. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 401 OF 1906. 
Amends section 114 to read as follows: 

Inspection of Bakeries and Confectioneries. — 

Section 114. Bakeries and confectionery establish- 
ments are factories within the meaning of this act and 
are subject to the provisions of article six thereof. They 
shall be kept at all times in a clean and sanitary con- 
dition. If on inspection the commissioner of labor 
find any bakery or confectionery to be so unclean, ill 
drained, or ill ventilated as to be unsanitary, he may 
after not less than forty-eight hours' notice in writing 
be served by affixing the notice on the inside of the main 
entrance door of said bakery, order the person found in 
charge thereof immediately to cease operating it until it 
be properly cleaned, drained, or ventilated. If such 
bakery or confectionery be thereupon continued in ope- 
ration or be thereafter operated before it be properly 
cleaned, drained, or ventilated, the commissioner of 
labor may, after first making and filing in the public 
records of his office a written order stating the reasons 



THE "LABOR LAW." 193 

therefor, at once and without further notice fasten up 
and seal the oven or other cooking apparatus of said 
bakery or confectionery, and affix to all materials, re- 
ceptacles, tools and instruments found therein, labels or 
conspicuous signs bearing the word unclean. No one 
but the commissioner of labor shall remove any such 
seal, label, or sign, and he may refuse to remove it until 
such bakery or confectionery be properly cleaned, 
drained, or ventilated. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 399 of 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to inspection 
of mines, tunnels and quarries. 

Became a law, June 3, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Sections one hundred and twenty, one 
hundred and twenty-one, one hundred and twenty-two, 
one hundred and twenty-three, one hundred and twenty- 
four, one hundred and twenty-five, one hundred and 
twenty-six, one hundred and twenty-seven, one hundred 
and twenty-eight and one hundred and twenty-nine of 
chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation 
to labor, constituting chapter thirty-two of the general 
Laws," are hereby amended to read as follows: 

Duties of Commissioner of Labor relating to Mines, Tunnels 
and Quarries ; Record and Report.— 

Sec. 120. The commissioner of labor shall see that 

every necessary precaution is taken to insure the safety 



194 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and health of employees employed in the mines and 
quarries and in the construction of tunnels of the state 
and shall prescribe rules and regulations therefor ; keep 
a record of the names and location of such mines, tun- 
nels and quarries, and the names of the persons or corpo- 
rations owning or operating the same ; collect data con- 
cerning the working thereof ; examine carefully into the 
method of timbering shafts, drifts, inclines, slopes and 
tunnels, through which employees and other persons 
pass, in the performance of their daily labor, and see 
that the persons or corporations owning and operating 
such mines, and quarries and constructing tunnels com- 
ply with the provisions of this chapter; and such infor- 
mation shall be furnished by the person operating such 
mine, tunnel or quarry, upon demand of the commis- 
sioner of labor. The commissioner of labor shall keep a 
record of all mine, tunnel and quarry examinations, 
showing the date thereof, and the condition in which the 
mines, tunnels and quarries are found, and the manner 
of working the same. He shall make an annual report 
to the legislature during the month of January, contain- 
ing a statement of the number of mines, tunnels and 
quarries visited, the number in operation, the number of 
men employed, and the number and cause of accidents, 
fatal and nonfatal, that may have occurred in and about 
the same. 

Outlets of Mines.-*- 

Sec. 121. If, in the opinion of the commissioner of 
labor it is necessary for safety of employees, the owner, 
operator or superintendent of a mine, operating through 
either a vertical or inclined shaft, or a horizontal tun- 
nel, shall not employ any person therein unless there 
are in connection with the subterranean workings there- 
of not less than two openings or outlets, at least one 
hundred and fifty feet apart, and connected with each 
other. Such openings or outlets shall be so constructed 
as to provide safe and distinct means of ingress and 



THE "LABOR LAW." 195 

egress from and to the surface at all times for the use 
of the employees of such mine. 

Ventilation and Timbering of Mines.— 

Sec. 122. In each mine or tunnel a ventilating cur- 
rent shall be conducted and circulated along the face of 
all working places and through the roadways, in suffi- 
cient quantities to insure the safety of employees and 
remove smoke and noxious gases. Each owner, agent, 
manager or lessee of a mine or tunnel shall cause it to 
be properly timbered, and the roof and sides of each 
working place therein properly secured. No person 
shall be required or permitted to work in an unsafe 
place or under dangerous material, except to make it 
secure. 

Riding on Loaded Cars; Storage of Inflammable Supplies. 

Sec. 123. No person shall ride or be permitted to ride 
on any loaded car, cage or bucket into or out of a mine 
or tunnel in process of construction. No powder or oils 
of any description shall be stored in a mine, tunnel or 
quarry or in or around shafts, engine or boiler houses, 
and all supplies of an inflammable and destructive na- 
ture shall be stored at a safe distance from the mine or 
tunnel openings. 

Inspection of Steam Boilers and Apparatus ; Steam, Air and 
Water G-auges.— 

Sec. 124. All boilers used in generating steam for 

mining or tunneling purposes shall be kept in good 

order, and the owner, agent, manager or lessee of such 

mine or tunnel- shall have such boilers inspected by a 

competent person, approved by the commissioner of 

labor, once in six months, and shall file a certificate 

showing the result thereof in the mine or tunnel office 

and a duplicate thereof in the office of the commissioner 

of labor. All engines, brakes, cages, buckets, ropes and 

chains shall be kept in good order and inspected daily 

by the superintendent of the mine or tunnel or a person 



196 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

designated by him. All lifts, hoists, ropes and other 
mechanical devices shall be properly designed and main- 
tained to sustain the weight intended to be placed 
thereon or suspended therefrom, such factors of safety 
being used as are generally accepted as sufficient by com- 
petent engineers, and all cars and lifts shall be supplied 
with safety brakes. All hoisting ropes shall at all times 
be of a breaking strength of not less than five times the 
gross load suspended from them, including weight of 
rope itself. Each boiler or battery of boilers used in 
mining or tunneling for generating steam, shall be pro- 
vided with a proper safety valve and with steam and 
water gauges, to show, respectively, the pressure of 
steam and the height of water in the boilers. Every 
boiler-house in which a boiler or nest of boilers is 
placed, shall be provided with a steam gauge properly 
connected with the boilers, and another steam gauge 
shall be attached to the steam pipe in the engine-house, 
and so placed that the engineer or fireman can readily 
ascertain the pressure carried. Every tunnel in which 
men are working under artificial air pressure shall be 
furnished with properly equipped and placed gauges 
capable at all times of showing the weight or pressure 
of air in said tunnel, and said gauge shall at all times 
during working hours be accessible to all persons work- 
ing on said tunnel. 

Use of Explosives ; Blasting.— 

Sec. 125. When high explosives other than gun- 
powder are used in a mine, tunnel or quarry, the man- 
ner of storing, keeping, moving, charging and firing, or 
in any manner using such explosives, shall be in accord- 
ance with rules prescribed by the commissioner of labor. 
In charging holes for blasting, in slate, rock or ore in any 
mine, tunnel or quarry, no iron or steel pointed needle 
or tamping bar shall be used, unless the end thereof is 
tipped with at least six inches of copper or other soft 
material. No person shall be employed to blast unless 



THE " LABOR LAW." 197 

the mine or tunnel superintendent or person having 
charge of sucli mine or tunnel, is satisfied that he is 
qualified, by experience, to perform the work with ordi- 
nary safety. When a blast is about to be fired in a mine 
or tunnel timely notice thereof shall be given by the 
person in charge of the work, to all persons who may be 
in danger therefrom. 

Report of Accidents.— 

Sec. 126. Whenever loss of life or an accident 
causing an injury incapacitating any person for work, 
shall occur in the operation of a mine, tunnel or quarry, 
the owner, agent, manager or lessee thereof shall imme- 
diately report, in writing, all the facts connected there- 
with to the commissioner of labor. 

Notice of Dangerous Condition. — 

Sec. 127. If the commissioner of labor, after ex- 
amination or otherwise, is of the opinion that a mine or 
tunnel, or anything used in the operation thereof, is 
unsafe, he shall immediately serve a written notice, 
specifying the defects, upon the owner, agent, manager 
or lessee, who shall forthwith remedy the same. 

Enforcement of Article.— 

Sec. 128. The commissioner of labor may serve a 
written notice upon the owner, agent, manager or lessee 
of a mine or tunnel requiring him to comply with a 
specified provision of this article. The commissioner of 
labor shall begin an action in the supreme court to en- 
force compliance with such provision; and upon such 
notice as the court directs, an order may be granted, 
restraining the working of such mine or tunnel during 
such time as may be therein specified. 

Admission of Inspectors to Mines and Tunnels.— 

Sec. 129. The owner, agent, manager or lessee of a 
mine or tunnel, at any time, either day or night, shall 



198 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

admit to such mine or tunnel or any building used in 
the operation thereof, the commissioner of labor or any 
qualified person duly authorized by him, for the pur- 
pose of making the examinations and inspections neces- 
sary for the enforcement of this article, and shall render 
any necessary assistance for such inspections. 



. CHAPTER 375 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relative to mines 
and quarries. 

Became a law, May 10, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Article nine of chapter four hundred and 
fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven, entitled "An act in relation to labor, constituting 
chapter thirty-two of the general laws," is hereby 
amended by adding at the end thereof four new sections 
to be sections one hundred and thirty, one hundred and 
thirty-one, one hundred and thirty-two and one hundred 
and thirty-three, and to read as follows : 

Traveling Ways.— 

Sec. 130. In all mines there shall be cut out of or 
around the sides of every hoisting shaft or driven 
through the solid strata at the bottom thereof, a 
traveling way not less than five feet high and three feet 
wide to enable persons to pass the shaft in going from 
one side to the other without passing over or under or 
in the way of the cage or other hoisting apparatus. 

Notice of Opening New Mine, Shaft or Quarry.— 

Sec. 131. Whenever a mine or quarry operator has 



THE "LABOR LAW." 199 

engaged or is about to engage in the development of 
new industries by the sinking of new shafts, inclines, 
tunnels or quarries, he shall report to the commissioner 
of labor, giving the name of the owner or owners, and 
the location of the property before the work of exca- 
vation shall have reached the depth of twenty-five feet. 

Notice of Abandonment.— 

Sec. 132. It shall be the duty of every mine or 
quarry operator to notify the commissioner of labor of 
the discontinuance or abandonment of any mine or 
quarry, when and in the event that such mine or quarry 
shall be closed permanently or abandoned. 

Employment of "Women and Children.— 

Sec. 133. No child under sixteen years of age shall 
be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in 
connection with any mine or quarry in this state. No 
female shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work 
in any mine or quarry in this state. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect October first, 
nineteen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 399 of 1907. 

Section 2. Article nine of said chapter is hereby 
amended by adding thereto three new sections to be sec- 
tions one hundred and thirty-four and one hundred and 
thirty five and one hundred and thirty-six and to read 
respectively as follows : 

Underground Workings to be Equipped with Head House 
and Doors.— 

Sec. 134. Every underground working where the 
depth exceeds forty feet shall be equipped with a proper 
head house and trapdoors. 



200 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Mines and Tunnels to be Equipped with Washrooms.— 

Sec. 135. Every mine, tunnel or quarry employing 
over twenty-five men shall maintain a suitably equipped 
and heated washroom, which shall be at all times ac- 
cessible to the men employed. 

Method of Exploding Blasts.— 

Sec. 136. No blast shall be exploded by an electric 
current of more than two hundred and fifty volts. 

Sec. 3. Nothing in this act contained shall be con- 
strued to affect, limit or vary any liability which has 
accrued prior to the passage of this act. 

Sec. 4. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 505 OF 1907. 

In Effect June 15, 1907. 

Sec. 4. Article ten of said chapter is hereby amended 
to read as follows : 

ARTICLE X. 

Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration. 

Section 140. Chief mediator. 

141. Mediation and investigation. 

142. Board of mediation and arbitration. 

143. Arbitration by the Board. 

144. Decisions of the board. 

145. Annual Report. 

146. Submission of controversies to local arbitrators. 

147. Consent ; oath ; powers of arbitrators. 

148. Decision of arbitrators. 

Chief Mediator.— 

Sec. 140. There shall continue to be a bureau of 
mediation and arbitration. The second deputy com- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 201 

missioner of labor shall be the chief mediator of the 
state and in immediate charge of this bureau, but sub- 
ject to the supervision and direction of the commissioner 
of labor. 

Mediation and investigation.— 

Sec. 141. Whenever a strike or lockout occurs 
or is seriously threatened an officer or agent of the 
bureau of mediation and arbitration shall, if practicable, 
proceed promptly to the locality thereof and endeavor by 
mediation to effect an amicable settlement of the con- 
troversy. If the commissioner of labor deems it advis- 
able the board of mediation and arbitration may pro- 
ceed to the locality and inquire into the cause thereof, 
and for that purpose shall have all the powers conferred 
upon it in the case of a controversy submitted to it for 
arbitration. 

Board of Mediation and Arbitration.— 

Sec. 142. There shall continue to be a state board 
of mediation and arbitration, which shall consist of 
the chief mediator and two other officers of the depart- 
ment of labor to be from time to time designated by the 
commissioner of labor. The chief mediator when 
present shall be the chairman of the board. Two mem- 
bers of such board shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business, and may hold meetings at any 
time or place within the state. Examinations or inves- 
tigations ordered by the board may be held and taken 
by and before any of their number, if so directed, but a 
decision rendered in such a case shall not be deemed 
conclusive until approved by the board. 

Arbitration by the Board.— 

Sec. 143. A grievance or dispute between an em- 
ployer and his employees may be submitted to the board 
of arbitration and mediation for their determination 
and settlement. Such submission shall be in writing, 



202 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and contain a statement in detail of the grievance or 
dispute and the cause thereof, and also an agreement 
to abide the determination of the board, and during the 
investigation to continue in business or at work, with- 
out a lockout or strike. Upon such submission, the 
board shall examine the matter in controversy. For 
the purpose of such inquiry they may subpoena wit- 
nesses, compel their attendance, take and hear testi- 
mony, and call for and examine books, papers and 
documents of any parties to the controversy. Sub- 
poenas shall be issued by the chairman under the seal of 
the department of labor. Witnesses shall be allowed the 
same fees as in courts of record. The decision of the 
board must be rendered within ten days after the 
completion of the investigation. 

Decisions of Board. 

Sec. 144. Within ten days after the completion of 
every arbitration, the board or a majority thereof shall 
render a decision, stating such details as will clearly 
show the nature of the controversy and the points dis- 
posed of by them, and make a written report of their 
findings of fact and of their recommendations to each 
party of the controversy. Every decision and report 
shall be filed in the office of the board and a copy thereof 
served upon each party to the controversy. 

Annual Report. — 

Sec. 145. The commissioner of labor shall make an 
annual report to the legislature of the operations of 
this bureau. 

Submission of Controversies to Local Arbitrators.— 

Sec. 146. A grievance or dispute between an em- 
ployer and his employees may be submitted to a board 
of arbitrators, consisting of three persons, for hearing 
and settlement. When the employees concerned are 
members in good standing of a labor organization, one 



THE ' ; LABOR LAW." 203 

arbitrator may be appointed by such organization and 
one by the employer. The two so designated shall ap- 
point a third, who shall be chairman of the board. If 
such employees are not members of a labor organi- 
zation, a majority thereof at a meeting duly called for 
that purpose, may designate one arbitrator for such 
board. 

Consent; Oath; Powers of Arbitrators.— 

Sec. 147. Before entering upon his duties, each 
arbitrator so selected shall sign a consent to act and 
take and subscribe an oath to faithfully and impartially 
discharge his duties as such arbitrator, which consent 
and oath shall be filed in the clerk's office of the county 
or counties where the controversy arose. When such 
board is ready for the transaction of business, it shall 
select one of its members to act as secretary, and notice 
of the time and place of hearing shall be given to the 
parties to the controversy. The board may, through its 
chairman, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance 
and take and hear testimony. The board may make and 
enforce rules for its government and the transaction of 
the business before it, and fix its sessions and 
adjournments. 

Decision of Arbitrators. — 

Sec. 148. The board shall, within ten days after the 
close of the hearing, render a written decision signed by 
them giving such details as clearly show the nature of 
the controversy and the questions decided by them. 
One copy of the decision shall be filed in the office of the 
clerk of the county or counties where the controversy 
arose and one copy shall be transmitted to the bureau 
of mediation and arbitration. 

Sec. 5. Section one hundred and six of said chap- 
ter, as amended by chapter four hundred and seventy- 
five of the laws of nineteen hundred and one, is hereby 
repealed. 



204: LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Sec. 6. Chapter nine of the laws of nineteen hun- 
dred and one, entitled " An act to create a department 
of labor and the office of commissioner of labor, and 
abolishing the offices of commissioner of labor statistics 
and factory inspector, and the state board of media- 
tion and arbitration," is hereby repealed. 

Sec. 7. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 490 OF 1906. 

Section 2. Section one hundred and sixty-one such 
chapter as amended by chapter two hundred and fifty- 
five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, is hereby 
amended to read as follows: 

Hours of Labor of Minors.— 

Sec. 161. No child under the age of sixteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or 
in connection with any mercantile establishment, busi- 
ness office, or telegraph office, restaurant, hotel, apart- 
ment-house, or in the distribution or transmission of 
merchandise or messages, more than fifty-four hours in 
any one week, or more than nine hours in any one day, 
or before seven o'clock in the morning or after ten 
o'clock in the evening of any day. But in cities of the 
first class no child under the age of sixteen years shall 
be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or in 
connection with any such establishment after seven 
o'clock in the evening of any day. No female employee 
between sixteen and twenty-one years of age shall be 
required, permitted or suffered to work in or in connec- 
tion with any mercantile establishment more than sixty 
hours in any one week; or more than ten hours in any 
one day, unless for the purpose of making a shorter work 
day of some one day of the week ; or before seven o'clock 



THE "LABOR LAW." 205 

in the morning or after ten o'clock in the evening of 
any day. This section does not apply to the employ- 
ment of persons sixteen years of age or upward on 
Saturday provided the total number of hours of labor 
in a week of any such person does not exceed sixty 
hours, nor to the employment of such persons between 
the fifteenth day of December and the following first 
day of January. Not less than forty-five minutes shall 
be allowed for the noonday meal of the employees of 
any such establishment. 

Sec. 3. Section one hundred and sixty-two of such 
chapter, as amended by chapter two hundred and fifty- 
five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, is hereby 
amended to read as follows : 

Employment of Children.— 

Sec. 162. No child under the age of fourteen years 
shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work in or 
in connection with any mercantile or other establish- 
ment specified in the preceding section, except that a 
child upward of twelve years of age may be employed 
therein in villages and cities of the second or third class, 
during the summer vacation of the public schools of the 
city or district where such establishment is situated. 
No child under the age of sixteen years shall be em- 
ployed in any such establishment, unless an employment 
certificate issued as provided in this article, shall have 
been theretofore filed in the office of the employer at the 
place of employment of such child. 

Sec. 4. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 518 OF 1905. 

Became a law May 17, 1905, to take effect immedi- 
ately. 

Section 2 amends section one hundred and sixty- 



206 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

three of chapter four hundred and fifteen of eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven to read as follows: 

Employment Certificate ; how Issued.— 

Sec. 163. Such certificate shall be issued by the 
commissioner of health or the executive officer of the 
board or department of health of the city, town or vil- 
lage where such child resides or is to be employed, or 
by such officer thereof as may be designated by such 
board, department or commissioner for that purpose, 
upon the amplication of the parent, guardian, or cus- 
todian of the child desiring such employment. Such 
officer shall not issue such certificate until he has re- 
ceived, examined, approved and filed the following 
papers duly executed: (l)The school record of such 
child properly filled out and signed as provided in this 
article. (2) A passport or duly attested transcript of 
the certificate of birth or baptism or other religious 
record, showing the date and place of birth of such 
child. A duly attested transcript of the birth certificate 
filed according to law with a registrar of vital statistics, 
or other officer charged with the duty of recording 
births shall be conclusive evidence of the age of such 
child. (3) The affidavit of the parent, guardian or cus- 
todian of the child, which shall be required, however, 
only in case such last-mentioned transcript of the cer- 
tificate of birth be not produced and filed, showing the 
place and date of birth of such child, which affidavit 
must be taken before the officer issuing the employment 
certificate, who is hereby authorized and required to 
administer such oaths and who shall not demand or re- 
ceive a fee therefor. In case it shall appear to the 
satisfaction of the officer to whom application is made, 
as herein provided, for an employment certificate, that 
a child for whom such certificate is requested and who 
has presented the school record and affidavit above pro- 
vided for, is in fact over fourteen years of age and that 
satisfactory documentary evidence of such age can be 



THE " LABOR LAW." 207 

produced which does not fall within any of the pro- 
visions of subdivision two of this section, and that none 
of the papers mentioned in said subdivision exists or can 
be produced, then and not otherwise he shall present 
to the board of health of which he is an officer or agent 
for its action thereon, a statement signed by him show- 
ing such facts, together with such affidavits or papers 
as may have been produced before him constituting 
such evidence of the age of such child; and the board 
of health, at a regular meeting thereof, may then, in its 
discretion, in a proper case, by resolution provide that 
such evidence of age shall be fully entered on the 
minutes of such board, and shall be received in place 
of the papers specified and required by subdivision two 
of this section. On due proof, in like manner, that a 
child who is a graduate of a public school of the state 
of New York or elsewhere having a course of not less 
than eight years, or of a school in the state of New 
York other than a public school, having a substantially 
equivalent course of study of not less than eight years' 
duration, and in which a record of the attendance of 
such child has been kept as required by the compulsory 
education law, and who produces and files a certificate 
of graduation duly issued to him therefrom, and who is 
recorded in the school records as fourteen years of age, 
is unable to further produce the evidence of age re- 
quired by subdivision two of this article, the board may, 
by resolution, permit the issuance to such child of an 
employment certificate and dispense with such evidence 
of age as is provided in said subdivision. Such employ- 
ment certificate shall not be issued until such child 
shall further have personally appeared before and been 
examined by the officer issuing the certificate, and until 
such officer shall, after making such examination, sign 
and file in his office a statement that the child can read 
and legibly write simple sentences in the English 
language and that in his opinion the child is fourteen 
years of age or upwards and has reached the normal 



208 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

development of a child of its age and is in sound health 
and is physically able to perform the work which it 
intends to do. In doubtful cases such physical fitness 
shall be determined by a medical officer of the board or 
department of health. Every such employment certifi- 
cate shall be signed, in the presence of the officer 
issuing the same, by the child in whose name it is issued. 
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 291 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to the issu- 
ance of employment certificates for children in 
factories and mercantile establishments. 

Became a law, May 6, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three -fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York represented in 
Senate and Assembly do enaet as follows: 

Section 3. Section one hundred and sixty-three of 
said chapter, as amended by chapter two hundred and 
fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three and 
chapter five hundred and eighteen of the laws of nine- 
teen hundred and five, is hereby amended to read 
as follows : 

Employment Certificate ; how Issued.— 

Sec. 163. Such certificate shall be issued by the 
commissioner of health or the executive officer of the 
board or department of health of the city, town or vil- 
lage where such child resides or is to be employed, or 
by such officer thereof as may be designated by such 
board, department or commissioner for that purpose, 
upon the application of the parent, guardian, or cus- 
todian of the child desiring such employment. Such 
officer shall not issue such certificate until he has re- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 209 

ceived, examined, approved and filed the following 
papers duly executed, viz. : The school record of such 
child properly filled out and signed as provided in this 
article; also, evidence of age showing that the child is 
fourteen years old or upwards, which shall consist of 
the evidence thereof provided in one of the following 
subdivisions of this section and which shall be required 
in the order herein designated as follows : 

Birth Certificate.— 

(a) A duly attested transcript of the birth certifi- 
cate filed according to law with a registrar of vital statis- 
tics or other officer charged with the duty of recording 
births which certificate shall be conclusive evidence of 
the age of such child. 

Certificate of Graduation.— 

(b) A certifiacte of graduation duly issued to such 
child showing that such child is a graduate of a public 
school of the state of New York or elsewhere, having a 
course of not less than eight years, or of a school in the 
state of New York other than a public school, having a 
substantially equivalent course of study of not less than 
eight years' duration, in which a record of the attend- 
ance of such child has been kept as required by the com- 
pulsory education law, provided that the record of such 
school shows such child to be at least fourteen years 
of age. 

Passport or Baptismal Certificate.— 

(c) A passport or a duly attested transcript of a 
certificate of baptism showing the date of birth and 
place of baptism of such child. 

Other Documentary Evidence.— 

(d) In case it shall appear to the satisfaction of 
the officer to whom application is made, as herein pro- 
vided, for an employment certificate, that a child for 



210 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

whom such a certificate is requested and who has pre- 
sented the school record, is in fact over fourteen years 
of age, and that satisfactory documentary evidence of 
age can be produced, which does not fall within any of 
the provisions of the preceding subdivisions of this sec- 
tion, and that none of the papers mentioned in said sub- 
divisions can be produced, then and not otherwise he 
shall present to the board of health of which he is an 
officer or agent, for its action thereon, a statement 
signed by him showing such facts together with such 
affidavits or papers as may have been produced before 
him constituting such evidence of the age of such child, 
and the board of health, at a regular meeting thereof, 
may then, by resolution, provide that such evidence of 
age shall be fully entered on the minutes of such board, 
and shall be received as sufficient evidence of the age of 
such child for the purpose of this section. 

Physicians' Certificates.— 

(e) In cities of the first class only, in case applica- 
tion for the issuance of an employment certificate shall 
be made to such officer by a child's parent, guardian 
or custodian who alleges his inability to produce any of 
the evidence of age specified in the preceding sub- 
divisions of this section, and if the child is apparently 
at least fourteen years of age, such officer may receive 
and file an application signed by the parent, guardian 
or custodian of such child for physicians' certificates. 
Such application shall contain the alleged age, place and 
date of birth, and present residence of such child, to- 
gether with such further facts as may be of assistance 
in determining the age of such child. Such application 
shall be filed for not less than ninety days after date 
of such application for such physicians' certificates, for 
an examination to be made of the statements contained 
therein, and in case no facts appear within such period 
or by such examination tending to discredit or contra- 
dict any material statement of such application, then 



THE "LABOR LAW." 211 

and not otherwise the officer may direct such child to 
appear thereafter for physicial examination before two 
physicians officially designated by the board of health, 
and in case such physicians shall certify in writing that 
they have separately examined such child and that in 
their opinion such child is at least fourteen years of 
age, such officer shall accept such certificates as sufficient 
proof of the age of such child for the purposes of this 
section. In case the opinions of such physicians do not 
concur, the child shall be examined by a third physician 
and the concurring opinions shall be conclusive for the 
purpose of this section as to the age of such child. Such 
officer shall require the evidence of age specified in sub- 
division (a) in preference to that specified in any sub- 
sequent subdivision and shall not accept the evidence 
of age permitted by any subsequent subdivision unless 
he shall receive and file in addition thereto an affidavit 
of the parent showing that no evidence of age specified 
in any preceding subdivision or subdivisions of this 
section can be produced. Such affidavit shall contain 
the age, place and date of birth, and present residence 
of such child, which affidavit must be taken before the 
officer issuing the employment certificate, who is hereby 
authorized and required to administer such oath and 
who shall not demand or receive a fee therefor. Such 
employment certificate shall not be issued until such 
child shall further have personally appeared before and 
been examined by the officer issuing the certificate, and 
until such officer shall, after making such examination^ 
sign and file in his office a statement that the child can 
read and legibly write simple sentences in the English 
language and that in his opinion the child is fourteen 
years of age or upwards and has reached the normal 
development of a child of its age, and is in sound health 
and is physically able to perform the Avork which it in- 
tends to do. In doubtful cases such physical fitness 
shall be determined by a medical officer of the board or 
department of health. Every such employment certifi- 



212 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

cate shall be signed, in the presence of the officer 
issuing the same, by the child in whose name it is issued. 
Sec. 4. Section one hundred and sixty-five of said 
chapter, as amended by chapter two hundred and fifty- 
five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, is hereby 
amended to read as follows : 

School Record, What to Contain.— 

Sec. 165. The school record required by this article 
shall be signed by the principal or chief executive officer 
of the school which such child has attended and shall 
be furnished on demand to a child entitled thereto or to 
the board, department or commissioner of health. It 
shall contain a statement certifying that the child has 
regularly attended the public schools or schools equiva- 
lent thereto or parochial schools for not less than one 
hundred and thirty days during the twelve months next 
preceding his fourteenth birthday, or during the twelve 
months next preceding his application for such school 
record and is able to read and write simple sentences in 
the English language, has received during such period 
instruction in reading, spelling, writing, English 
grammar and geography and is familiar with the funda- 
mental operations of arithmetic up to and including 
fractions. Such school record shall also give the date 
of birth and residence of the child as shown on the rec- 
ords of the school and the name of its parents or 
guardian or custodian. 

Sec. 5. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



CHAPTER 493 OF 1905. 

In Effect May 17, 1905. 

Section 2. Section one hundred and sixty-seven of 
chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen 
hundred and ninety-seven as amended, entitled " An act 



THE " LABOR LAW.'" 213 

ill relation to labor constituting chapter thirty-two of 
the general laws " as amended by chapter two hundred 
and fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, 
is hereby amended so as to read as follows : 

Registry of Children Employed.— 

Sec. 1GT. The owner, manager, or agent of a mercan- 
tile or other establishment specified in section one hun- 
dred and sixty-one, employing children, shall keep or 
cause to be kept, in the office of such establishment a 
register, in which shall be recorded the name, birth- 
place, age and place of residence of all children so 
employed under the age of sixteen years. Such register 
and the certificates filed in such office shall be produced 
for inspection, upon the demand of an officer of the 
board, department or commissioner of health of the 
town, village or city where such establishment is situ- 
ated. On termination of the employment of the child 
so registered and whose certificate is so filed, such cer- 
tificate shall be forthwith surrendered by the employer 
to the child or its parent or guardian or custodian. An 
officer of the board, department or commissioner of 
health of the town, village or city where a mercantile or 
other establishment mentioned in this article is situated, 
may make demand on an employer in whose establish- 
ment a child apparently under the age of sixteen years 
is employed or permitted or suffered to work, and whose 
employment certificate is not then filed as required by 
this chapter, that such employer shall either furnish 
him within ten days, evidence satisfactory to him that 
such child is in fact over sixteen years of age, or shall 
cease to employ or permit or suffer such child to work 
in such establishment. The officer may require from 
such employer the same evidence of age of such child 
as is required on the issuance of an employment cer- 
tificate; and the employer furnishing such evidence 
shall not be required to furnish any further evidence 
of the age of the child. A notice embodying such de- 



214 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

mand may be served on such employer personally or may 
be sent by mail addressed to him at said establishment, 
and if served by post shall be deemed to have been 
served at the time when the letter containing the same 
would be delivered in the ordinary course of the post. 
When the employer is a corporation such notice may be 
served either personally upon an officer of such cor- 
poration or by sending it by post addressed to the office 
of the principal place of business of such corporation. 
The papers constituting such evidence of age furnished 
by the employer in response to such demand shall be 
filed with the board, department or commissioner of 
health and a material false statement made in any such 
paper or affidavit by any person, shall be a misdemeanor. 
In case such employer shall fail to produce and deliver 
to the officer of the board, department, or commissioner 
of health within ten days after such demand such evi- 
dence of age herein required by him, and shall there- 
after continue to employ such child or permit or suffer 
such child to work in such mercantile or other estab- 
lishment proof of the giving of such notice and of such 
failure to produce and file such evidence shall be prima 
facie evidence in any prosecution brought for a violation 
of this article that such child is under sixteen years of 
age and is unlawfully employed. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 519 OF 1905. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law relating to children 
working in streets and public places in cities of the 
first and second classes. 

Became a law, May 17, 1905, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of Neiu York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Sections one hundred seventy-four, one 



THE "LABOR LAW." 215 

hundred seventy-seven and one hundred seventy-nine-a 
of article twelve of chapter four hundred fifteen of the 
laws of eighteen hundred ninety-seven entitled " An act 
in relation to labor, constituting chapter thirty -two of 
the general laws " as amended by chapter one hundred 
fifty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred three, are 
hereby amended to read as follows: 

Prohibited Employment of Children in Street Trades.— 

Sec. 174. No male child under ten, and no girl under 
sixteen years of age shall in any city of the first or 
second class sell or expose or offer for sale newspapers 
in any street or public place. 

Regulations Concerning Badge and Permit.— 

Sec. 177. The badge provided for herein shall be 
worn conspicuously at all times by such child while so 
working ; and such permit and badge shall expire at the 
end of one year from the date of their issue. No 
child to whom such permit and badge are issued shall 
transfer the same to any other person nor be engaged 
in any city of the first or second class as a newsboy, or 
shall sell or expose or offer for sale newspapers in any 
street or public place without having upon his person 
such badge, and he shall exhibit the same upon demand 
at any time to any police, or attendance officer. 

Violation of this Article, how Punished.— 

Sec. 179-a. Any child who shall work in any city of 
the first or second class in any street or public place as 
a newsboy or shall sell or expose or offer for sale news- 
papers under circumstances forbidden by the provisions 
of this article, must be arrested and brought before a 
court or magistrate having jurisdiction to commit a 
child to an incorporated charitable reformatory or other 
institution and be dealt with according to law; and if 
any such child is committed to an institution, it shall 
Avhen practicable, be committed to an institution 



216 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

governed by persons of the same religious faith as the 
parents of such child. 

Sec. 2. Nothing in this act contained shall be 
deemed or construed to repeal, amend, modify, impair 
or in any manner, affect any provision of the penal code 
or the code of criminal procedure. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect September first, 
nineteen hundred and five. 

CHAPTER 588 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend the labor law, relative to children 
working in streets and public places in cities of the 
first or second class. 

Became a law, July 16, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as folloivs: 

Section 1. Article twelve of chapter four hundred 
and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, constituting 
chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as added by 
chapter one hundred and fifty-one of the laws of nine- 
teen hundred and three, and as amended by chapter 
five hundred and nineteen of the laws of nineteen hun- 
dred and five, is hereby amended to read as follows : 



ARTICLE XII. 



Employment of Children in Street Trades. 

Section 174. Prohibited employment of children in street trades. 

175. Permit and badge for newsboys, how issued. 

176. Contents of permit and badge. 

177. Regulations concerning badge and permit. 

178. Limit of hours. 

179. Enforcement of article. 

179-a. Violation of this article, how punished. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 217 

Prohibited Employment of Children in Street Trades.— 

Sec. 174. No male child under ten, and no girl 
under sixteen years of age shall in any city of the first 
or second class sell or expose or offer for sale news- 
papers, magazines or periodicals in any street or 
public place. 

Permit and Badge for Newsboys, how Issued.— 

Sec. 175. No male child under fourteen years of age 
shall sell or expose or offer for sale said articles unless 
a permit and badge as hereinafter provided shall have 
been issued to him by the district superintendent of the 
board of education of the city and school district where 
said child resides, or by such other officer thereof as 
may be officially designated by such board for that pur- 
pose, on the application of the parent, guardian or other 
person having the custody of the child desiring such per- 
mit and badge, or in case said child has no parent, 
guardian or custodian then on the application of his 
next friend, being an adult. Such permit and badge 
shall not be issued until the officer issuing the same 
shall have received, examined, approved and placed on 
file in his office satisfactory proof that such male child 
is of the age of ten years or upwards, and shall also 
have received, examined and placed on file the written 
statement of the principal or chief executive officer of 
the school which the child is attending, stating that such 
child is an attendant at such school, that he is of the 
normal development of a child of his age and physically 
fit for such employment, and that said principal or 
chief executive* officer approves the granting of a permit 
and badge to such child. No such permit or badge shall 
be valid for any purpose except during the period in 
which such proof and written statement shall remain on 
file, nor shall such permit or badge be authority beyond 
the period fixed therein for its duration. After having 
received, examined, and placed on file such papers the 
officer shall issue to the child a permit and badge. 



218 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Principals or chief executive officers of schools in which 
children under fourteen years are pupils shall keep 
complete lists of all children in their schools to whom 
a permit and badge as herein provided have been 
granted. 

Contents of Permit and Badge.— 

Sec. 176. Such permit shall state the date and place 
of birth of the child, the name and address of its parent, 
guardian, custodian or next friend as the case may be 
and describe the color of hair and eyes, the height and 
weight and any distinguishing facial mark of such child, 
and shall further state that the papers required by the 
preceding section have been duly examined and filed; 
and that the child named in such permit has appeared 
before the officer issuing the permit. The badge fur- 
nished by the officer issuing the permit shall bear on its 
face a number corresponding to the number of the per- 
mit, and the name of the child. Every such permit, and 
every such badge on its reverse side, shall be signed in 
the presence of the officer issuing the same by the child 
in whose name it is issued. 

Begulations Concerning Badge and Permit.— 

Sec. 177. The badge provided for herein shall be 
worn conspicuously at all times by such child while so 
working; and all such permits and badges shall expire 
annually on the first day of January. The color of the 
badge shall be changed each year. No child to whom 
such permit and badge are issued shall transfer the 
same to any other person nor be engaged in any city of 
the first or second class as a newsboy, or shall sell or 
expose or offer for sale newspapers, magazines or per- 
iodicals in any street or public place without having con- 
spicuously upon his person stich badge, and he shall ex- 
hibit the same upon demand at any time to any police, 
or attendance officer. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 219 

Limit of hours.— 

Sec. 178. No child to whom a permit and badge are 
issued as provided for in the preceding sections shall 
sell or expose or offer for sale any newspapers, maga- 
zines or periodicals, after ten o'clock in the evening, or 
before six o'clock in the morning. 

Enforcement of Article.— 

Sec. 179. In cities of the first or second class, police 
officers, and the regular attendance officers appointed by 
the board of education who are hereby vested with the 
powers of peace officers for the purpose, shall enforce 
the provisions of this article. 

Violation of this Article s How Punished.-— 

Sec. 179-a. Any child who shall work in any city of 
the first or second class in any street or public place as 
a newsboy or who shall sell or expose or offer for sale 
newspapers, magazines or periodicals in violation of the 
provisions of this article, shall be arrested and brought 
before a court or magistrate having jurisdiction to com- 
mit a child to an incorporated charitable reformatory or 
other institution and be dealt with according to law ; 
and if an} T such child is committed to an institution, it 
shall when practicable, be committed to an institution 
governed by persons of the same religious faith as the 
parents of such child. The permit and badge of any 
child who violates the provisions of this article may be 
revoked by the officer issuing the same, upon the recom- 
mendation of the principal or chief executive officer of 
the school which such child is attending, or upon the 
complaint of any police officer or attendance officer, and 
such child shall surrender the permit and badge so re- 
voked upon the demand of any attendance officer, or 
police officer charged with the duty of enforcing the 
provisions of this article. The refusal of any child to 
surrender such permit and badge, upon such demand, or 
the sale or offering for sale of newspapers, magazines 
or periodicals in any street or public place by any child 



220 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

after notice of the revocation of such permit and badge 
shall be deemed a violation of this article and shall sub- 
ject the child to the penalties provided for in this sec- 
tion. 

Sec. 2. Nothing in this act shall be deemed or con- 
strued to repeal, amend, modify, impair or in any man- 
ner affect any provision of the penal code or the code of 
criminal procedure. 

Sec. 3. This act shall take effect October first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



CHAPTER 83 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to repeal article thirteen of the labor law rela- 
tive to horseshoers. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Became a law, March 27, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

Sec. 1. Article thirteen consisting of sections one 
hundred and eighty, one hundred and eighty-one, one 
hundred and eighty-two, one hundred and eighty-three 
and one hundred and eighty-four of chapter four hun- 
dred and fifteen of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-seven, entitled " An act in relation to labor, con- 
stituting chapter thirty-two of the general laws," as 
amended by chapter five hundred and fifty-eight of the 
laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, is hereby re- 
pealed. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



THE «• LABOR LAW." 221 

THE PENAL CODE. 

Penal Code Sec. 384-f repealed by Chap. 506 of 1907. 
In effect June 15, 1907. 

Sec. 384-g. (Amended by Chap. 521 of 1906. In 
effect September 1,1906.) 

A person, 

1. Refusing to admit the commissioner of labor, or 
any person authorized by him, to a mine, tunnel or 
quarry, and to each and every part thereof, for the 
purpose of examination and inspection, or 

2. Neglecting or refusing to comply with the pro- 
visions of article nine of the labor law upon written 
notice of the commissioner of labor, is guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and upon conviction therefor shall be pun- 
ished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars, or by im- 
prisonment for not less than thirty days. 

Hours of Labor to be Required.— 

Sec. 384-h. {Amended bij Chap. 506 of 1907. In 
effect June 15, 1907.) 

Any person or corporation, 

1. Who, contracting with the state or a municipal 
corporation, shall require more than eight hours work 
for a day's labor ; or 

2. Who shall require more than ten hours labor, in- 
cluding one-half hour for dinner, to be performed within 
twelve consecutive hours, by the employees of a street 
surface and elevated railway owned or operated by cor- 
porations whose main line of travel or routes lie prin- 
cipally within the corporate limits of cities of more than 
one hundred thousand inhabitants ; or 

3. Who shall require the employees of a corporation 
owning or operating a brickyard to work contrary to the 
requirements of section six of the labor law ; or 

4. Who shall require the employees of a corporation 
operating a line of railroad of thirty miles in length or 
over, in whole or in part within this state contrary to 
the requirements of article one of the labor law, is guilty 
of a misdemeanor, and on conviction therefor shall be 
punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more 
than one thousand dollars for each offense. If any con- 



222 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tractor with the state or a municipal corporation shall 
require more than eight hours for a day's labor, upon 
conviction therefor in addition to such fine, the contract 
shall be forfeited at the option of the municipal cor- 
poration. 

Sec. 384-h; Subdivision 4. (Amended by Chap. 523 
of 1907. In effect March 4, 1908. ) 

4. Who shall require or permit any employee en- 
gaged in or connected with the movement of any train 
of a corporation operating a line of railroad of thirty 
miles in length, or over, in whole or in part within this 
state, to remain on duty more than sixteen consecutive 
hours; or to require or permit any such employee who 
has been on duty sixteen consecutive hours to go on duty 
without having at least ten hours off duty; or to re- 
quire or permit any such employee who has been on 
duty sixteen hours in the aggregate in any twenty-four 
hour period, to continue on duty or to go on duty with- 
out having had at least eight hours off duty within such 
twenty-four hour period; except when by casualty oc- 
curring after such employee has started on his trip, or 
by unknown casualty occurring before he started on his 
trip, and except when by accident or unexpected delay 
of trains scheduled to make connection with the train 
on which such employee is serving, he is prevented from 
reaching his terminal; is guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not 
less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dol- 
lars for each offense. If any contractor with the state 
or a municipal corporation shall require more than 
eight hours for a day's labor, upon conviction therefor 
in addition to such fine, the contract shall be forfeited 
at the option of the municipal corporation. 

Violations of Provisions of Labor Law. — 

Sec. 384-1. (Amended by Chap. 506 of 1907. In 
effect June 15, 1907.) 

Any person who violates or does not comply with : 



THE " LABOR LAW." 223 

1. The provisions of article two of the labor law, 
relating to the department of labor ; 

2. The provisions of article three of the labor law, 
relating to the bureau of labor statistics; 

3. The provisions of article five of the labor law, re- 
lating to the bureau of factory inspection ; 

4. The provisions of article six of the labor law, re- 
lating to factories ; 

5. The provisions of article seven of the labor law, 
relating to the manufacture of articles in tenements ; 

f>. The provisions of article eight of the labor law, 
relating to bakeries and confectionery establishments; 

7. The provisions of article eleven of the labor law, 
relating to mercantile establishments, and the employ- 
ment of women and children therein; 

8. And any person who knowingly makes a false 
statement in or in relation to any application made 
for an employment certificate as to any matter required 
by articles six and eleven of the labor law to appear in 
any affidavit, record, transcript or certificate therein 
provided for, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon con- 
viction shall be punished for a first offense by a fine of 
not less than twenty nor more than fifty dollars; for a 
second offense by a fine of not less than fifty nor more 
than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not 
more than thirty days or by both such fine and imprison- 
ment ; for a third offense by a fine of not less than two 
hundred and fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not 
more than sixty days, or by both such fine and imprison- 
ment. 



CHAPTER 136 OP 1905. 

AN ACT to amend the penal code prohibiting the cor- 
rupt influencing of agents, employees or servants. 

Became a law, April 5,' 1905, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
a majority being present. 



224 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

The people of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Secton 1. The penal code is hereby amended by in- 
serting therein at the end of title eleven a new section 
to be known as three hundred and eighty-four-r, and to 
read as follows: 

Corrupt Influencing of Agents, Employees or Servants.— 

Sec. 384-r. Whoever gives, offers or promises to an 
agent, employee or servant, any gift or gratuity what- 
ever, without the knowledge and consent of the princi- 
pal, employer or master of such agent, employee or 
servant, with intent to influence his action in relation 
to his principal's, employer's or master's business; or 
an agent, employee or servant who without the knowl- 
edge and consent of his principal, employer or master, 
requests or accepts a gift or gratuity or a promise to 
make a gift or to do an act beneficial to himself, under 
an agreement or with an understanding that he shall 
act in any particular manner to his principal's, employ- 
er's or master's business; or an agent, employee or 
servant, who, being authorized to procure materials, 
supplies or other articles either by purchase or contract 
for his principal, employer or master, or to employ 
service or labor for his principal, employer or master, 
receives directly or indirectly, for himself or for another, 
a commission, discount or bonus from the person who 
makes such sale or contract, or furnishes such materials, 
supplies or other articles, or from a person who renders 
such service or labor ; and any person who gives or offers 
such an agent, employee or servant such commission, 
discount or bonus shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and 
shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars 
nor more than five hundred dollars, or by such fine and 
by imprisonment for not more than one year. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect September first, 
nineteen hundred and five. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 225 

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL LAW. 

CHAPTER 556 OF 1894, TITLE 16., SECTION 5. AS 
AMENDED BY CHAP. 585 OF 1907. 

Said section 5 was added by Chap. 671 of 1891. 

And amended by Chap. 459 of 1903. 

And amended by Chap. 280 of 1905. 

And amended by Chap. 103 of 1907, which became a 
law April 3, 1907, to take effect immediately and then 
again 

Amended by Chap. 585 of 1907, which became a law 
July 15, 1907, to take effect September 1, 1907. 

Persons Employing Children Unlawfully, to be Fined.— 

Section 5. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm 
or corporation to employ any child under fourteen years 
of age, in any business or service whatever, during any 
part of the term during which the public schools of the 
district in which the child resides are in session; or 
to employ any child between fourteen and sixteen years 
of age who does not, at the time of such employment, 
present in a city of the first class or a city of the second 
class, an employment certificate duly issued under the 
provisions of the labor law, or elsewhere the school 
record hereinbefore provided ; or to employ, in a city 
of the first class or a city of the second class, any child 
between fourteen and sixteen years of age who is not in 
possession of the employment certificate hereinbefore 
mentioned and who has not completed such course of 
study as the public elementary schools of such city 
require for graduation from such schools and who does 
not hold either a certificate of graduation from the pub- 
lic elementary school or the preacademic certificate is- 
sued by the regents of the university of the state of 
New York or the certificate of the completion of an 
elementary school issued by the education department, 
unless the employer of such child, if a boy, shall keep 
and shall display in the place where such child is em- 



226 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ployed and shall show whenever so requested by any 
attendance officer, factory inspector, or representative 
of the police department, a certificate signed by the 
school authorities of * such school officers in said city as 
said school authorities shall designate, which school 
authorities, or officers designated by them, are hereby 
required to issue such certificates to those entitled to 
them not less frequently than once in each month 
during which said evening school is in session and at the 
close of the session of said evening school, stating that 
said child has been in attendance upon said evening 
school for not less than six hours each week for such 
number of weeks as will, when taken in connection with 
the number of weeks such evening school will be in 
session during the remainder of the current or calendar 
year, make up a total attendance on the part of said 
child in said evening school of not less than six hours 
per week for a period of not less than sixteen weeks, 
and any person who shall employ any child contrary to 
the provisions of this section or who shall fail to keep 
and display certificates as to the attendance of employees 
in evening schools when such attendance is required 
by law shall, for each offense, forfeit and pay to the 
treasurer of the city or village, or to the supervisor of 
the town in which such child resides a penalty of fifty 
dollars, the same, w T hen paid, to be added to the public 
school moneys of the city, village or district in which 
such child resides. 

SUNDAY BARBERING ACT. 

CHAPTER 297 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend chapter eight hundred and twenty- 
three of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
five, entitled " An act to regulate barber ing on Sun- 
day," in relation to the application of such act to 
Saratoga Springs. 

* So in original. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 227 

Became a law, May 6, 1907, with the approval the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Section one of chapter eight hundred 
and twenty-three of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
ninety-five, entitled " An act to regulate barbering on 
Sunday," is hereby amended to read as follows: 

Sec. 1. Any person who carries on or engages in 
the business of shaving, hair cutting or other work of a 
barber on the first day of the week, shall be deemed 
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 
shall be fined not more than five dollars; and upon a 
second conviction for a like offense shall be fined not less 
than ten dollars and not more than twenty-five dollars, 
or be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not 
less than ten days, nor more than tw 7 enty-five days, or 
be punishable by both such fine and such imprisonment 
at the discretion of the court or magistrate; provided, 
that in the village of Saratoga Springs, from the fif- 
teenth day of June to the fifteenth day of September, 
inclusive, and in the city of New York throughout the 
year, barber shops or other places where a barber is 
engaged in shaving, hair cutting or other work of a 
barber, may be kept open, and the work of a barber may 
be performed therein until one o'clock of the afternoon 
of the first day of the week. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 

CHAPTER 327 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to amend chapter four hundred and thirty- 
two of the laws of nineteen hundred and four, entitled 
" An act to regulate the keeping of employment agen- 
cies in cities of the first and second class where fees 



228 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

are charged for procuring employment or situations," 
generally, and to limit its application to cities of the 
first class. 

Became a law, April 27, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Section 1. Chapter four hundred and thirty-two of 
the laws of nineteen hundred and four is hereby 
amended so as to read as follows : 

Definitions.— 

Sec. 1. The term person when used in this act, means 
and includes any individual, company, association, or 
corporation, or their agents, and the term employment 
agency means and includes the business of procuring 
or offering to procure help or employment or of giving 
information as to where help or employment may be 
procured, whether such business is conducted in a build- 
ing or on the street or elsewhere; and the business of 
keeping an intelligence office, employment bureau, the- 
atrical, or shipping agency, nurses' registry, or agency 
for procuring engagements for vaudeville or theatrical 
performers, or other agency or office for procuring work 
or employment for persons seeking employment where 
a fee or privilege or commission is exacted, charged 
or received directly or indirectly for procuring or as- 
sisting or promising to procure employment, work, en- 
gagement, or a situation of any kind, or for procuring 
or providing help or promising to provide help for any 
person, whether such fee is collected from the applicant 
for employment or the applicant for help, excepting 
agencies conducted exclusively for procuring employ- 
ment for persons as teachers, and in recognized educa- 
tional institutions only, as occupants of technical or 
executive positions, and registries of all incorporated 



THE "LABOR LAW." 229 

associations of registered nurses and bureaus conducted 
by registered medical institutions and excepting also 
departments maintained by persons, firms, corporations 
or associations for the purpose of securing help for 
themselves where no fee is charged the applicant for 
employment. The term fee as used in this act means 
money or a promise to pay money. The term fee also 
means and includes the excess of money received by any 
such licensed person over what he has paid for trans- 
portation, transfer of baggage, or lodging for any ap- 
plicant for employment. The term fee as used in this 
act also means and includes the difference between the 
amount of money received by any person who furnishes 
employees or performers for any entertainment, exhibi- 
tion or performance and the amount paid by said person 
to the employees or performers whom he hires to give 
such entertainment, exhibition or performance. The 
term privilege as used in this act means and includes, 
the furnishing of food, supplies, tools or shelter to con- 
tract laborers, commonly known as commissary privi- 
leges. 

License. — 

Sec. 2. No person shall open, keep or carry on any 
such employment agency in the cities of the first class, 
unless every such person shall procure a license there- 
for from the mayor or the commissioner of licenses of 
the city in which such person intends to conduct such 
agency. Such license shall be posted in a conspicuous 
place in said agency. Any person who shall open or 
conduct such, an employment agency without first pro- 
curing said license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor 
and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than fifty 
dollars and not more than two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars, or by imprisonment for a period of not more than 
one year or both, at the discretion of the court. Such 
license shall be granted upon the payment to said mayor 
or commissioner of licenses of a fee of twenty-five dol- 



230 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

lars annually for such employment agency in cities of 
the first class. Every license shall contain the name of 
the person licensed, a designation of the city, street and 
number of the house in which the person licensed is au- 
thorized to carry on the said employment agency, and 
the number and date of such license. Such license shall 
not be valid to protect any other than the person to 
whom it is issued or any place other than that desig- 
nated in the license and shall not be transferred or 
assigned to any other person unless consent is obtained 
from the mayor or commissioner of licenses. The per- 
son to whom said license is assigned or transferred shall 
file with the mayor or the commissioner of licenses a 
bond as required in section three. No such agency shall 
be located in rooms used for living purposes or where 
boarders or lodgers are kept or where meals are served 
or where persons sleep or in connection with a building 
or on premises where intoxicating liquors are sold to 
be consumed on the premises, excepting cafes and res- 
taurants in office buildings. If said licensed person shall 
conduct a lodging-house for the unemployed, separate 
and apart from such agency, it shall be so designated 
in the license. The application for such license shall be 
filed not less than one week prior to the granting of 
said license and the mayor or commissioner of licenses 
shall act upon such application within thirty days from 
the time of such application. The mayor or commis- 
sioner of licenses shall require every such applicant to 
furnish satisfactory proof, by affidavits, of good moral 
character and shall receive any protest against the is- 
suance or the transfer of any license. The names and 
addresses of all applicants for licenses or for transfers 
of licenses shall be posted daily in the public office of 
the mayor or commissioner of licenses. The license 
shall run to the first Tuesday of May next ensuing the 
date thereof and no longer unless sooner revoked by 
the mayor or commissioner of licenses. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 231 

Bond — 

Sec. 3. The mayor or commissioner of licenses of 
said city shall require such person to file with his appli- 
cation for a license a bond in due form to the people of 
the said city in the penal sum of one thousand dollars in 
cities of the first class, with two or more sufficient sure- 
ties, and conditioned that the obligor will not violate 
any of the duties, terms, conditions, provisions or re- 
quirements of this act. If any person shall be aggrieved 
by the misconduct of any such licensed person, and shall 
recover judgment against him therefor, such person 
may, after the return unsatisfied, either in whole or in 
part, of any execution issued upon said judgment, main- 
tain an action in his own name upon the bond of said 
employment agent in any court having jurisdiction of 
the amount claimed provided such court shall, upon ap- 
plication made for the purpose, grant such leave to 
prosecute. 

Register; References.— 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of every such licensed 
person, except those conducting theatrical agencies, or 
agencies for the employment of vaudeville performers 
or nurses' registries or agencies for the procuring of 
technical, clerical, sales or executive positions for men 
only, to keep a register, approved by the mayor or the 
commissoner of licenses, in which shall be entered, in 
the English language, the date of the application for 
employment; the name and address of the appli- 
cant to whom employment is promised or offered ; the 
amount of the fee received, and whenever possible, the 
names and addresses of former employers or persons 
to whom such applicant is known. Such licensed per- 
son, except those above specified in this section, shall 
also enter in a separate register, approved by the mayor 
or commissioner of licenses, in the English language," 
the name and address of every applicant accepted for 
help, the date of such application, kind of help re- 



232 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

quested, the names of the persons sent, with the desig- 
nation of the one employed, the amount of the fee re- 
ceived and the rate of wages agreed upon. The afore- 
said registers of applicants for employment and for help 
shall be open during office hours to inspection by the 
mayor or commissioner of licenses. No such licensed 
person, his agent or employees, shall make any false 
entry in such registers. It shall be the duty of every 
licensed person, whenever possible, to communicate 
orally or in writing with at least one of the persons men- 
tioned as' references for every applicant for work in 
private families, or employed in a fiduciary capacity, 
and the result of such investigation shall be kept on file 
in such agency; provided that if the applicant for help 
voluntarily waives in writing such investigation of ref- 
erences by the licensed person, failure on the part of the 
licensed person to make such investigation shall not be 
deemed a violation of this act. Every licensed person 
exempted from the provisions of this section as to the 
keeping of registers shall keep accurate records in the 
English language, of all persons to whom work is 
promised or offered, or from whom a fee is taken, and 
of all persons from whom an application for an em- 
ployee is accepted, together with the date of the en- 
gagement, the amount of the fee received, and the rate 
of remuneration agreed upon. 

Fees ; Receipts. — 

Sec. 5. The fees charged applicants for employment 
as lumbermen, agricultural hands, coachmen, grooms, 
hostlers, seamstresses, cooks, waiters, waitresses, scrub- 
women, laundresses, maids, nurses (except profession- 
als) and all domestics and servants, unskilled workers 
and general laborers, shall not in any case exceed ten 
per centum of the first month's wages, and for all other 
applicants for employment, shall not exceed the amount 
of the first week's wages or salary or five per centum of 
the first year's salary, except when the employment or 



THE " LABOR LAW." 233 

engagement is of a temporary nature, not to exceed in 
any single contract one month, then the fee shall not 
exceed ten per centum of the salary paid. In case the 
applicant shall not accept or obtain help or employment, 
through such agency, then such licensed person shall 
on demand, repay the full amount of the said fee, allow- 
ing three days' time to determine the fact of the appli- 
cant's failure to obtain help or employment. If an em- 
ployee furnished fails to remain one week in the situa- 
tion, a new employee shall be furnished to the applicant 
for help if he so elects, or three-fifths of the fee returned, 
within four days of demand ; provided said applicant for 
help notifies said licensed person within thirty days of 
the failure of the applicant to accept the position or of 
the applicant's discharge for cause. If the employee is 
discharged within one week without said employee's 
fault another position shall be furnished or three-fifths 
of the fee returned to the applicant for employment if 
he so elects. Failure of said applicant for help to notify 
said licensed person that such help has been obtained 
through means other than said agency shall entitle said 
licensed person to retain or collect three-fifths of the 
said fee. No such licensed person shall send out any 
applicant for employment without having obtained, 
either orally or in writing, a bona fide order therefor, 
and if it shall appear that no employment of the kind 
applied for existed at the place to which said applicant 
was directed, the said licensed person shall refund to 
such applicant within three days of demand any sums 
paid by said applicant for transportation in going to 
and returning from said place, and all fees paid by said 
applicant. It shall be the duty of such licensed person 
to give to every applicant for employment from whom 
a fee shall be received a receipt in which shall be stated, 
the name of said applicant, the date and amount of the 
fee, and the purpose for which it was paid, and to every 
applicant for help a receipt stating the name and ad- 
dress of said applicant, the date and amount of the fee, 



234: LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and the kind of help to be provided. Every such re- 
ceipt, excepting only those given by theatrical, and 
those procuring technical, clerical, sales and executive 
positions for men only, shall have printed on the back 
thereof a copy of this section in the English language 
and in any language which the person to whom the re- 
ceipt is issued can understand. No such licensed per- 
son shall receive or accept any valuable thing or gift 
as a fee or in lieu thereof. No such licensed person 
shall divide fees with contractors or their agents or 
other employers or any one in their employ to whom 
applicants for employment are sent. Every such li- 
censed person shall give to each applicant for employ- 
ment a card or printed paper containing the name of the 
applicant, name and address of such employment agency 
and the written name and address of the person to whom 
the applicant is sent for employment. Every such li- 
censed person shall post in a conspicuous place in each 
room of such agency sections four, five and six of this 
act, which shall be printed in large type in languages 
which persons commonly doing business with such office 
can understand. Such printed law shall also contain 
the name and address of the officer charged with the en- 
forcement of this law. 

Employment Contract.— 

Sec. 6. No such person shall induce or attempt to 
induce any domestic employee to leave his employment 
with a view to obtaining other employment through 
such agency. Whenever such licensed or any other 
acting for him, agrees to send one or more persons to 
work as contract laborers in any one place outside 
the city in which such agency is located, the said li- 
censed person shall file with the mayor or commissioner 
of licenses, within five days after the contract is made, a 
statement containing the following item: Name and 
address of the employer, name and address of the em- 
ployee; nature of the work to be performed, hours of 



THE 'LABOR LAW." 235 

labor; wages offered, destination of the persons em- 
ployed, and terms of transportation. A duplicate copy 
of this statement shall be given to the applicant for 
employment in a language which he is able to under- 
stand. 

Character of Employer ; Fraud.— 

Sec. 7. No such licensed person shall send or cause 
to be sent any female as a servant or inmate or per- 
former to enter any place of bad repute, house of ill- 
fame, or assignation house, or to any house or place of 
amusement kept for immoral purposes, or place resorted 
to for the purposes of prostitution, or gambling house, 
the character of which such licensed person could have 
ascertained upon reasonable inquir}\ No such licensed 
person shall knowingly permit any person of bad char- 
acter, prostitutes, gamblers, intoxicated persons or pro- 
curers to frequent such agency. No such licensed per- 
son shall accept any application for employment made 
by or on behalf of any child or shall place or assist in 
placing any such child in any employment whatever 
in violation of the compulsory education law, known 
as title sixteen, of the consolidated school law of eight- 
teen hundred and ninety-four, as amended; and in vio- 
lation of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws 
of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, known as the 
labor law. No licensed person, his agents, servants or 
employees, shall induce or compel any person to enter 
such agency for any purpose, by the use of force or by 
taking forcible possession of said person's property. No 
such licensed person, his agents or employees, shall have 
sexual intercourse with any female applicant for em- 
ployment. No such person shall procure or offer to pro- 
cure help or employment in rooms or on premises where 
intoxicating liquors are sold to be consumed on the 
premises whether or not dues or a fee or privilege is ex- 
acted, charged, or received directly or indirectly. For 
the violation of any of the foregoing provisions of this 



236 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

section the penalty shall be a fine of not less than fifty 
dollars, and not more than two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars, or imprisonment for a period of not more than 
one year or both, at the discretion of the court. No 
such licensed person shall publish or cause to be pub- 
lished any false or fraudulent or misleading notice or 
advertisement; all advertisements of such employment 
agency by means of cards, circulars, or signs and in 
newspapers and other publications, and all letter heads, 
receipts, and blanks shall contain the name and ad- 
dress of such employment agency and no such licensed 
person shall give any false information, or make any 
false promise or false representation concerning em- 
ployment to any applicant who shall register for em- 
ployment or help. 

Eafor cement. — 

Sec. 8. In cities of the first class the enforcement 
of this act shall be entrusted to a commissioner to be 
known as a commissioner of licenses, who shall be ap- 
pointed by the mayor, and whose salary together with 
those of a deputy commissioner, and inspectors to be 
appointed by him shall be fixed by the board of esti- 
mate and apportionment. Said commissioner of licenses 
and deputy commissioner shall have no other occupa- 
tion or business. He shall appoint inspectors who 
shall make at least by-monthly visits to every such 
agency excepting those agencies exempted from keep- 
ing the prescribed registers under section four of this 
act, which shall be inspected on complaint made to 
said commissioner of licenses. Said inspectors shall 
have a suitable badge which they shall exhibit on de- 
mand of any person with whom they may have official 
business. Such inspectors shall see that all the pro- 
visions of this act are complied with, and shall have no 
other occupation or business. Complaints against any 
such licensed person shall be made orally or in writing 
to the commissioner of licenses, and reasonable notice 



THE "LABOR LAW." 237 

thereof, not less than one day, shall be given in writing 
to said licensed person by serving upon him a concise 
statement of the facts constituting the complaint, and a 
hearing shall be had before the commissioners * of li- 
censes within one week from the date of the filing of the 
complaint and no adjournment shall be taken for a 
period longer than one week. A daily calendar of all 
hearings shall be kept by the commissioner of licenses 
and shall be posted in a conspicuous place in his public 
office for at least one day before the date of such hear- 
ings. The commissioner of licenses shall render his de- 
cision within eight days from the time the matter is 
finally submitted to him. Said commissioner of licenses 
shall keep a record of all such complaints and hearings. 
The said commissioner of licenses may refuse to issue 
and shall revoke any license for any good cause shown, 
within the meaning and purpose of this act, and when it 
is shown to the satisfaction of the commissioner of li- 
censes that any licensed person is guilty of any immoral, 
fraudulent or illegal conduct in connection with the 
conduct of said business, it shall be the duty of the 
commissioner of licenses to revoke the license of such 
person; but notice of the charges shall be presented 
and reasonable opportunities shall be given said li- 
censed person to defend himself. Whenever said com- 
missioner of licenses shall refuse to issue or shall revoke 
the license of any such employment agency, said de- 
termination shall be subject to review on writ of cer- 
tiorari. Whenever for any cause such license is revoked, 
said commissioner of licenses shall not issue another li- 
cense to said licensed person or his representative or to 
any person with whom he is to be associated in the busi- 
ness of furnishing employment. The violation of any 
provision of this act, except as provided in sections two 
and seven, shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed 
twenty-five dollars, and any city magistrate, police jus- 

* So in original. 



238 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tice, justice of the peace, or any inferior magistrate 
having original jurisdiction in criminal cases, shall have 
power to impose said fine, and in default of payment 
thereof to commit the person so offending for a period 
not exceeding thirty days. The said commissioner of 
licenses shall institute criminal proceedings for its en- 
forcement before any court of competent jurisdiction. 

Repealing. — 

Sec. 9. All acts or parts of acts relating to employ- 
ment agencies in cities of the first class, inconsistent 
with this act, are hereby repealed, except the provisions 
of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of 
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, known as the 
labor law. 

Sec. 10. This act shall apply only to cities of the 
first class. 

Sec. 11. This act shall take effect on May first, 
nineteen hundred and six. 



CHAPTER 328 OF 1906. 

AN ACT to regulate the keeping of employment 
agencies in cities of the second class w T here fees are 
charged for procuring employment or situations. 

Became a law, April 27, 1906, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of Neiv York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Definitions.— 

Section 1. The term person when used in this act, 
means and includes any individual, company, associa- 
tion, or corporation, or their agents, and the term 
employment agency means and includes the business of 
keeping an intelligence office, employment bureau, or 



THE "LABOR LAW." 239 

other agency or office for procuring work or employ- 
ment for persons seeking employment where a fee or 
privilege is exacted, charged or received directly or 
indirectly for procuring or assisting to procure employ- 
ment, work, or a situation of any kind, or for procuring 
or providing help for any person, whether such fee is col- 
lected from the applicant for employment or the 
applicant for help, excepting agencies for procuring 
employment for school teachers exclusively. The term 
fee as used in this act means money or a written promise 
to pay money. 

License.— 

Sec. 2. No person shall open, keep or carry on any 
such employment agency in the cities of the second 
class, unless every such person shall procure a license 
therefor from the mayor of the city in which such per- 
son intends to conduct such agency. Any person who 
shall open or conduct such an employment agency with- 
out first procuring said license shall be punishable by 
a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, or, 
on failure to pay such fine, by imprisonment not exceed- 
ing thirty days. Such license shall be granted upon 
the payment to said mayor of a fee of twenty-five dollars 
annually for such employment agencies in cities of the 
second class. Every license shall contain the name of 
the person licensed, a designation of the city, street and 
number of the house in which the person licensed is 
authorized to carry on the said employment agency, 
and the number and date of such license. Such license 
shall not be valid to protect any other than the person 
to whom it is issued or any place other than that desig- 
nated in the license unless consent is obtained from the 
mayor. No such agency shall be located in rooms used 
for living purposes, where boarders or lodgers are kept, 
or on premises where intoxicating liquors are sold, ex- 
cepting cafes and restaurants in office buildings. Tf 
said licensed person shall conduct a lodging-house for 



240 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the unemployed, separate and apart from such agency, 
it shall be so designated in the license. The applica- 
tion for such license shall be filed not less than one 
month prior to the granting of said license and shall be 
accompanied by the affidavits of two persons who have 
known the applicant or the chief officer thereof, if a 
corporation for five years, stating that the said appli- 
cant is a person of good moral character. The license 
shall run to the first Tuesday of May next ensuing the 
date thereof and no longer unless sooner revoked by 
the mayor. 

Bond.— 

Sec. 3. The mayor of said city shall require such 
person to file with his application for a license a bond 
in due form to the people of the said city in the penal 
sum of one thousand dollars in cities of the second class, 
with two or more sufficient sureties, and conditioned 
that the obligator will not violate any of the duties, 
terms, conditions, provisions, or requirements of this 
act. If any person shall be aggrieved by the misconduct 
of any such licensed person, and shall recover judgment 
against him therefor, such person may, after the return 
unsatisfied, either in whole or in part, of any execution 
issued upon said judgment, maintain an action in his 
own name upon the bond of said employment agent in 
any court having jurisdiction of the amount claimed 
provided such court shall, upon application made for 
the purpose, grant such leave to prosecute. 

Begister ; Beferences. — 

Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of every such licensed 
person to keep a register, approved by the mayor, in 
which shall be entered, in the English language, the 
date of every application for employment; the name and 
address of the applicant ; the amount of the fee received, 
and whenever possible, the names and addresses of 
former employers or persons to whom such applicant 



THE "LABOR LAW." 241 

is known. Such licensed person shall also enter in a 
separate register approved by the mayor, in the English 
language, the name and address of every applicant for 
help, the date of such application, the kind of help re- 
quested, the names of the persons sent, with the designa- 
tion of the one employed, the amount of the fee received 
and the rate of wages agreed upon. The aforesaid regis- 
ters of applicants for employment and for help shall be 
open during office hours t(: inspection by the mayor. 
No such licensed person, his agent or emploj^ees, shall 
make any false entry in such registers. It shall be the 
duty of every licensed person, whenever possible, to 
communicate orally or in writing with at least one of 
the persons mentioned as references for every applicant 
for work in private families, or employed in a fiduciary 
capacity, and the result of such investigation shall be 
kept on file in such agency. 

Fees ; Keceipts.— 

Sec. 5. The fees charged applicants for employment 
as lumbermen, agricultural hands, coachmen, grooms, 
hostlers, seamstresses, cooks, waiters, waitresses, scrub- 
women, laundresses, maids, nurses (except profes- 
sional) and all domestics and servants, unskilled work- 
ers and general laborers, shall not in any case exceed 
ten per centum of the first mouth's wages, and for 
all other applicants for employment, shall not exceed 
the amount of the first week's wages or salary or five 
per centum of the first years salary. In case the appli- 
cant shall not accept or obtain help or employment, 
through such agency, then such licensed person shall on 
demand, repay the full amount of the said fee, allowing 
five days' time to determine the fact of the applicant's 
failure to obtain help or employment; except when it 
appears that the said licensed person has in good faith, 
attempted to procure help or employment for said appli- 
cant, then he shall be entitled to retain of such fee paid, 



242 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

an amount not exceeding fifty cents. If an employee 
furnished fails to remain one week in the situation, a 
new employee shall be furnished or three-fifths of the 
fee returned, within four days of demand; if the em- 
ployee is discharged within one week without said ap- 
plicant's fault another position shall be furnished or 
three fifths of the fee returned. Failure of said appli- 
cant for help to notify said licensed person that such 
help has been obtained through means other than said 
agency shall entitle said licensed person to retain or col- 
lect three-fifths of the said fee. It shall be the duty of 
such licensed person to give to every applicant for 
employment from whom a fee shall be received a receipt 
in which shall be stated, the name of said applicant, the 
date and amount of the fee, and the purpose for which it 
is paid, and to every applicant for help a receipt stating 
the name and address of said applicant, the date and 
amount of the fee, and the kind of help to be provided. 
Every such receipt shall have printed on the back 
thereof a copy of this section in the English language 
and in languages which persons commonly doing busi- 
ness with such office can understand. No such licensed 
person shall receive or accept any valuable thing or 
gift as a fee or in lieu thereof and no fee shall be ac- 
cepted by such licensed person for any other purpose 
except as herein provided. No such licensed person 
shall divide fees with contractors or other employees to 
whom applicants for employment are sent. Every such 
licensed person shall give to each applicant for employ- 
ment a card containing the name and address of such 
employment agency and the written name and address 
of the person to whom the applicant is sent for employ- 
ment. Every such licensed person shall post in a con- 
spicuous place in each room of such agency a plain and 
legible copy of this act, which shall be printed in lan- 
guages, which persons commonly doing business with 
such office can understand. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 243 

Employment Contract.— 

Sec. (>. No such person shall induce or attempt to 
induce any employee to leave his employment with a 
view to obtaining other employment through such 
agency. Whenever such licensed person or any other 
acting for him, agrees to send one or more persons to 
work as contract laborers in any one place outside the 
city in which such agency is located, the said licensed 
person shall file with the mayor within five days after 
the contract is made, a statement containing the follow- 
ing items, name and address of the employer, name and 
address of the employee; nature of the work to be per- 
formed, hours of labor; wages offered, designation* of 
the persons employed, and terms of transportation. A 
duplicate copy of this statement shall be given to the 
applicant for employment in a language which he is able 
to understand. 

Character of Employer ; Fraud.— 

Sec. 7. No such licensed person shall send or cause 
to be sent any female help as servants or inmates to any 
questionable place, or place of bad repute, house of ill- 
fame, or assignation house, or to any house or place of 
amusement kept for immoral purposes, the character of 
which such licensed person could have ascertained upon 
reasonable inquiry. No such licensed person shall 
knowingly permit questionable characters or procurers 
to frequent such agency. No such licensed person shall 
publish or cause to be published any false or fraudulent 
notice or advertisement ; all advertisements of such em- 
ployment agency by means of cards, circulars, or signs 
and in newspapers and other publications, and all letter- 
heads, receipts, and blanks shall contain the name and 
address of such employment agency and no such 
licensed person shall give any false information, or 
make any false promise concerning employment to any 
applicant who shall register for employment or help. 

*So in original. 



244 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Enforcement.— 

Sec. 8. In cities of the second class this law shall be 
enforced by the major, or an officer appointed by him. 
Any violation of the provisions of this act shall con- 
stitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more 
than two hundred and fifty dollars or imprisonment for 
not more than one year, except as provided in section 
two, and the mayor shall institute criminal proceedings 
for its enforcement before any court of competent juris- 
diction. 

Repealing. — 

Sec. 9. All acts and parts of acts relating to employ- 
ment agencies in cities of the second class, inconsistent 
with this act, are hereby repealed, except the provisions 
of chapter four hundred and fifteen of the laws of 
eighteen hundred and ninety-seven known as the labor 
law. 

Sec. 10. This act shall take effect on May first, nine- 
teen hundred and six. 



THE RAILROAD LAW. 
CHAPTER 565 OF 1890. 

Persons Employed as Drivers and Conductors.— 

Section 42. Any railroad corporation may employ 
any inhabitant of the state, of the age of twenty-one 
years, not addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors, as 
a car driver or conductor, or in any other capacity, if fit 
and competent therefor. 

Sec. 42a. Added by Chap. 657 of 1906. Became a 
law May 29, 1906. 

Sec. 42-a. In all actions against a railroad corpora- 
tion, foreign or domestic, doing business in this state, 
or against a receiver thereof, for personal injury to, 
or death resulting from personal injury of any per- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 245 

son, while in the employment of such corporation, or 
receiver, arising from the negligence of such corporation 
or receiver or of any of its or his officers or employees, 
every employee, or his legal representatives, shall have 
the same rights and remedies for an injury, or for death, 
suffered by him, from the act or omission of such cor- 
poration or receiver or of its or his officers or employees, 
as are now allowed by law, and, in addition to the lia- 
bility now existing by law, it shall be held in such ac- 
tions that persons engaged in the service of any rail- 
road corporation, foreign or domestic, doing business 
in this state, or in the service of a receiver thereof, who 
are entrusted by such corporation or receiver, with the 
authority of superintendence, control or command of 
other persons in the employment of such corporation or 
receiver, or with the authority to direct or control any 
other employee in the performance of the duty of such 
employee, or who have, as a part of their duty, for the 
time being, physical control or direction of the move- 
ment of a signal, switch, locomotive engine, car, train 
or telegraph office, are vice-principals of such corpora- 
tion or receiver, and are not fellow-servants of such in- 
jured or deceased employee. If an employee, engaged 
in the service of any such railroad corporation, or of a 
receiver thereof, shall receive any injury by reason of 
any defect in the condition of the ways, works, ma- 
chinery, plant, tools or implements, or of any car, 
train, locomotive or attachment thereto belonging, 
owned or operated, or being run and operated by such 
corporation or. receiver, when such defect could have 
been discovered by such corporation or receiver, by rea- 
sonable and proper care, tests or inspection such cor- 
poration or receiver, shall be deemed to have had knowl- 
edge of such defect before and at the time such injury 
is sustained; and when the fact of such defect shall be 
proved upon the trial of any action in the courts of 
this state, brought by such employee or his legal repre- 
sentatives, against any such railroad corporation or re- 



246 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ceiver, on account of such injuries so received, the same 
shall be prima facie evidence of negligence on the part 
of such corporation or receiver. This section shall not 
affect actions or causes of action now existing; and no 
contract, receipt, rule or regulation, between an em- 
ployee and a railroad corporation or receiver, shall ex- 
empt or limit the liability of such corporation or re- 
ceiver from the provisions of this section. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

Conductors and Employees Must Wear Badges.— 

Sec. 43. Every conductor and employee of a railroad 
corporation employed in a passenger train, or at sta- 
tions for passengers, shall wear upon his hat or cap a 
badge, which shall indicate his office or employment, 
and the initial letters of the corporation employing 
him, and without such badge he shall not demand or 
receive from any passenger any fare or ticket or meddle 
or interfere with any passenger, his baggage or prop- 
erty, or exercise any of the powers of his employment. 

When Conductors and Brakemen may be Policemen.— 

Sec. 58. ( As amended by Chap. 380 of 1906 ; in effect 
May 10, 1906.) The governor may appoint any con- 
ductor or brakeman on any train conveying passengers 
on any steam railroad in this state, a policeman, with all 
the powers of a policeman in cities and villages, for the 
preservation of order and of the public peace, and the 
arrest of all persons committing offenses upon the land 
or property of the corporation owning or operating such 
railroad; and he may also appoint, on the application 
of any such corporation, or of any steamboat company, 
such additional policemen, designated by it, as he may 
deem proper, who shall have the same powers. Every 
such policeman shall within fifteen days after receiving 
his commission, and before entering upon the duties 
of his office, take and subscribe the constitutional oath 
of office, and file it with his commission in the office of 



THE <• LABOR LAW." 247 

the secretary of state. Every such policeman shall 
when on duty wear a metallic shield, with the words 
" railroad police " or " steamboat police " as the case 
may be, and the name of the corporation for which ap- 
pointed inscribed thereon, which shall always be worn 
in plain view, except when employed as a detective. The 
compensation of every such policeman shall be such as 
may be agreed upon between him and the corporation 
for which he is appointed, and shall be paid by the cor- 
poration. When any corporation shall no longer re- 
quire the services of any such policeman they may file 
notice to that effect in the office in which notice of his 
appointment was originally filed, and thereupon such 
appointment shall cease and be at an end. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



DOMESTIC RELATION LAW. 
CHAPTER 272 OF 1896. 



ARTICLE IV. 

Payment of Wages to Minor ; when valid.— 

Section 42. 

Where a minor is in the employment of a person other 
than his parent or guardian, payment to such minor of 
his wages is valid, unless such parent or guardian notify 
the employer in writing within thirty days after the com- 
mencement of such service, that such wages are claimed 
by such parent" or guardian, but whenever such notice 
is given at any time payments to the minor shall not be 
valid for services rendered thereafter. 



248 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



CHAPTER 520 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to amend chapter five hundred and ninety-two 
of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, en- 
titled " An act in relation to navigation, constituting 
chapter thirty of the general laws," authorizing tem- 
porary assignments of the inspectors of steam vessels 
to the department of labor. 

Became a law, June 17, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 

Sec. 1. Section three of chapter five hundred and 
ninety-two of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
seven is hereby amended so as to read as follows : 

Duties of Superintendent of Public Works. 

Sec. 3. The superintendent of public works shall 
superintend the administration of the provisions of 
this article, appoint the inspectors provided for in this 
act and exercise supervision over them in the per- 
formance of their duties so far as the same relate to the 
administration and enforcement of the provisions of 
this act. During such periods of the year as in the 
judgment of the superintendent of public works, the 
services of the inspectors provided to be appointed by 
this act shall not be needed in the administration of 
the provisions of this act, he may, upon request of the 
commissioner of labor for temporary periods, transfer 
such inspectors to the department of labor, and during 
the periods in which said inspectors are so transferred, 
they shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the commis- 
sioner of labor and subject to detail by him as experts in 
the administration of the labor law. The necessary 
traveling expenses of said inspectors while acting under 
the jurisdiction of the commissioner of labor shall be 



THE " LABOR LAW." 249 

paid from the funds appropriated for the administration 
of the department of labor, and their salaries shall be 
paid, as hereinafter provided, by the superintendent of 
public works, their vouchers to be approved by the com- 
missioner of labor. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



CHAPTER 327 OF 1900. 

AN ACT in relation to cities, constituting chapter 
twenty-two of the general laws. 

In Effect October 1, 1900. 



ARTICLE III. 
PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE. 

Sections 40 to 57. 

Examining Boards of Plumbers in Cities.— 

Section 40. The existing boards for the examination 
of plumbers in cities of this state are continued and 
each shall hereafter be known as the examining board 
of plumbers. Such board in each city shall continue to 
consist of five persons to be appointed by the mayor, of 
whom two shall be employing or master plumbers 
of not less than ten years' experience in the business of 
plumbing, and one shall be a journeyman plumber 
of like experience, and the other members of such board 
shall be the chief inspector of plumbing and drainage 
of the board of health of such city, or officer performing 
the duties of such inspector, and the chief engineer 
having charge of sewers in such city, but in the event 
of there being no such officers in such city, then any 



250 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

two other officers having charge or supervision of the 
plumbing, drainage or sewerage, whom the mayor shall 
designate or appoint, or two members of the board of 
health of such city having like duties or acting in like 
capacities. 

Term of Office ; Vacancies.— 

Sec. 41. The term of office of each member of such 
board shall be three years, from the first day of Janu- 
ary following his appointment. Vacancies occurring by 
expiration of a term shall be filled by the mayor for a 
full term. Vacancies by death, removal, inability to 
act, resignation or removal from the city of any member 
shall be filled by him for the unexpired term. The chief 
inspector of plumbing and drainage and the engineer in 
charge of sewers or the officers holding equivalent 
positions or acting in like capacities designated or ap- 
pointed by the mayor as herein provided, shall be ex 
officio members of such examining board, and when they 
shall cease to hold their offices by reason or on account 
of which they w^ere so designated or appointed, their 
successors shall act on the examining board in their 
stead. 

Compensation of Members of Board.— 

Sec. 42. The master and journeymen plumbers serv- 
ing as members of such board shall severally be paid 
the rate of five dollars per day for each day's service 
when actually engaged in the performance of the duties 
pertaining to the office; but such compensation shall 
not exceed five dollars per month in a city of the third 
class, nor the sum of ten dollars per month in the city 
of the second class, nor the sum of twenty dollars per 
month in a city of the first class. It shall be the duty 
of such ex officio members of the board of examiners 
to discharge their duties as members of such board 
without compensation therefor. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 251 

Qualifications.— 

Sec. 43. All members of such board shall be citizens 
and actual residents of the cities in which they are ap- 
pointed. 

Powers and Duties.— 

Sec. 44. The several examining boards of plumbers 
shall have power and it shall be their duty : 

1. To meet at stated intervals in their respective 
cities; they shall also meet whenever the board of health 
of such city or the mayor thereof shall in writing re- 
quest them so to do. 

2. To have jurisdiction over and to examine all per- 
sons desiring or intending to engage in the trade, busi- 
ness or calling of plumbing as employing plumbers in 
the city in which such board shall be appointed with 
the power of examining persons applying for certifi- 
cates of competency as such employing or master 
plumbers or as inspectors of plumbing, to determine 
their fitness and qualifications for conducting the busi- 
ness of master plumbers or to act as inspector of plumb- 
ing, and to issue certificates of competency to all such 
persons who shall have passed a satisfactory examina- 
tion before such board and shall be by it determined 
to be qualified for conducting the business as employ- 
ing or master plumbers or competent to act as inspec- 
tors of plumbing. 

3. To formulate in conjunction with the local board 
of health of the city or an officer, board or body perform- 
ing the duties of a board of health a code of rules regu- 
lating the work of plumbing and drainage in such city, 
including the materials, workmanship and manner of 
executing such work and from time to time to add to, 
amend or alter the same. 

4. To charge and collect from each person applying 
for examination the sum of five dollars for each ex- 
amination made by such board, and all moneys so col- 
lected shall be paid over by the board monthly to the 



252 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

chamberlain or treasurer of such city in which such 
board shall be appointed. 

Examinations; Conducting Business Without Certificate 
Prohibited.— 

Sec. 45. A person desiring or intending to conduct 
the trade, business or calling of a plumber or of plumb- 
ing in a city of this state as employing or master 
plumber, shall be required to submit to an examination 
before such examining board of plumbers as to his expe- 
rience and qualifications for such trade, business or call- 
ing, and it shall not be lawful in any city of this state 
for a person to conduct such trade, business or calling, 
unless he shall have first obtained a certificate of com- 
petency from such board of the city in which he con- 
ducts or proposes to conduct such business. 

Registration, When Required.— 

Sec. 46. Every employing or master plumber carry- 
ing on his trade, business or calling in any city of this 
state shall register his name and address at the office 
of the board of health of the city in which he shall con- 
duct such business, under such rules as the respective 
boards of health of each of the cities shall prescribe, and 
thereupon he shall be entitled to receive a certificate of 
such registration, provided, however, that such employ- 
ing or master plumber shall at the time of applying for 
such registration hold a certificate of competency from 
an examining board of plumbers. 

Cancellation of Registration ; Notice. — 

Sec. 47. Such registration may be canceled by such 
board of health for a violation of the rules and regu- 
lations for the plumbing and drainage of such city duly 
adopted and enforced therein, after a hearing had be- 
fore such board of health and upon a prior notice of 
not less than ten days stating the ground of complaint 
and served on the person charged with the violation, 



THE "LABOR LAW." 253 

but such revocation shall not be operative unless con- 
curred in by the local board of examiners. It shall not 
be lawful for any person to engage in or carry on the 
trade, business or calling of an employing or master 
plumber in any of the cities of this state, unless his 
name and address shall have been registered in the 
city in which he carries on or conducts such business 

Inspectors ; Qualifications ; Notice.— 

Sec. 48. The local board of health or the commis- 
sioner or commissioners of the board of health, or the 
health department thereof, as the case may be, shall 
detail, designate or appoint an inspector or inspectors of 
plumbing, subject, however, to the provisions or limita- 
tions of law, regulating the appointment of such inspect- 
ors by such commissioner or commissioners or board or 
department <sf health of such city. All inspectors of 
plumbing who are detailed, designated or appointed 
shall be practical plumbers and shall not be engaged 
directly or indirectly in the business of plumbing, during 
the period of their appointment. They shall be citizens 
and actual residents of the city in which they are ap- 
pointed and before entering upon the discharge of their 
duties as such inspectors they shall each be required to 
obtain a certificate of competency from said examining 
board. They shall be entitled to receive compensation 
not exceeding five dollars per day for each day of actual 
service, to be fixed by the board, commission or depart- 
ment making such appointment. 

Duties of Inspectors ; Reports. — 

Sec. 49. The inspector or inspectors of plumbing 
appointed under the provisions of the preceding sec- 
tions, in addition to the duties, prescribed by law, and 
those which may be enjoined or required by the com- 
missioner of health, the board of health or the health 
department of the city in which they shall be appointed, 
shall be to inspect the construction and alteration of 



254 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

all plumbing work performed in such city, and to re- 
port in writing the results of such inspection to such 
commissioner of health or the board of health or the 
health department of their respective cities. They shall 
also report in like manner any person engaged in or 
carrying on the business of employing plumber, with- 
out having the certificate hereinbefore provided. 

Expiration and Renewals of Certificates and Licenses.— 

Sec. 50. All certificates of registration issued under 
the provisions of the preceding sections and all licenses 
authorizing connections with street sewers or water 
mains shall expire on the thirty-first day of December 
of the year in which they shall be issued, and may be 
renewed within thirty days preceding such expiration. 
Such renewals to be for one year from the first day of 
January in each year. 

Notice of Violation of Rules.— 

Sec. 51. Whenever any inspector or other person re- 
ports a violation of any of such rules and regulations 
for plumbing and drainage, or a deviation from any 
officially approved plan or specification for plumbing 
and drainage filed with any board or department, the 
local board of health shall first serve a notice of the 
violation thereof upon the master plumber doing the 
work, if a registered plumber. 

Notice How Served; Proceedings When Violations not Re- 
moved.— 

Sec. 52. Such notice may be served personally or 

by mail, and if by mail it may be addressed to such 

master plumber at the address registered by him with 

such local board of health, but the failure of a master 

plumber to register will relieve any board of health from 

the requirement of giving notice of violation. Unless 

the violation is removed within three days after the day 

of serving or mailing such notice, exclusive of the day of 



THE -LABOR LAW." 255 

service or mailing, the board of health may proceed ac- 
cording to law. 

Plumbing and Drainage to be Executed According to Rules. — 
Sec. 53. The plumbing and drainage of all build- 
ings, both public and private, in each of the cities of 
tliis state, shall be executed in accordance with the rules 
and regulations adopted by the local board of examin- 
ing plumbers, in conjunction with the board of health 
for plumbing and drainage, and all repairs and alter- 
ations in the plumbing and drainage of all buildings 
heretofore constructed shall also be executed in accord- 
ance with such rules and regulations; but this section 
shall not be construed to repeal any existing provision 
of law requiring plans for the plumbing and drainage 
of new buildings to be filed with any local board of 
health and be previously approved in writing by such 
board of health and be executed in accordance there- 
with, except that in case of any conflict with such plans, 
rules and regulations of the board of examiners, the 
latter shall govern. 

Office Room ; Expenses a City Charge.— 

Sec. 54. Each of such examining boards of plumbers 
shall have power to procure suitable quarters for the 
transaction of business, to provide the necessary books 
and stationery and to employ a clerk to keep such books 
and record the transactions of such board. The board 
of estimate and apportionment or the common council 
of a city as the case may be shall annually insert in their 
tax levy a sufficient sum to meet all the expenditures 
incurred under the provisions of this article. The ex- 
penses incurred by the several examining boards of 
plumbers in the execution and performance of the duties 
imposed by this article shall be a charge on the respect- 
ive cities and shall be audited, levied, collected and 
paid in the same manner as other city charges are 
audited, levied, collected and paid. 



256 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Violations How Punished. 

Sec. 55. Any person violating any of the provisions 
of this article, or any rules or regulations of the board 
of health or of the examining board of plumbers in any 
city regulating the plumbing and drainage of buildings 
in such city, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on 
conviction if a master plumber shall in addition, for- 
feit any certificate of competency or registration, which 
he may hold under the provisions thereof. 

Issue of License to Connect with Sewers and Water Mains, 
Restricted.— 

Sec. 56. The commissioner of public works of any 
city, or the officer or officers acting in a like capacity 
in any of the cities of this state, and having charge of 
the sewers and water mains therein, shall not issue a 
license to any one to connect with the sewers or with 
the water mains of such cities, unless such person has 
obtained and shall produce a certificate of competency 
from the examining board of such city. 

Article Limited.— 

Sec. 57. Nothing in this article shall affect or super- 
cede any provision of chapter eight hundred and three 
of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-six, relating 
to plumbing in the city of New York. 

(Mem.— Said Chap. 327 of 1900, amended by Chap. 
168 of 1902, by adding to article 1 a new section 
to be known as section 15, making it a misdemeanor for 
any city employee or other person operating a crema- 
tory for disposal of garbage who shall fail or neglect 
to use the devices and supplies to be furnished as 
therein specified and directed to be used for such dis- 
posal of garbage or other refuse matter in any city.) 

Chap. 602 of 1892, providing for the examination and 
registration of master plumbers, &c, was held consti- 
tutional. That en indictment and conviction for a viola- 
tion of the act was proper. 144 N. Y. 529. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 257 

The last above act was repealed by the plumbers' act of 
1900. Ch. 327. 

CHAPTER 429 OF 1907. 

AN ACT to establish the public service commissions and 
prescribing their powers and duties, and to provide 
for the regulation and control of certain public ser- 
vice corporations and making an appropriation 
therefor. 

Became a law, June 6, 1907, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, 
three-fifths being present. 

Passed without the acceptance of the city of New York. 

The People of the State of Netv York, represented in 
Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 



THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONS LAW. 

Article I. Public service commissions ; general provisions (§§ 1-23). 

II. Provisions relating to railroads, street railroads and common 
carriers (§§ 25-40). 

III. Provisions relating to the powers of the commissions in respect 

to railroads, street railroads and common carriers (§§ 45-60). 

IV. Provisions relating to gas and electric corporations ; regulation 

of price of gas and electricity (§§ 65-77) 
V. Commissions and offices abolished ; saving clause ; repeal (§§ 80- 
89). 



ARTICLE I. 

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONS ; GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

Section 1. Short title. 

2. Definitions. 

3. Public service districts. 

4. Commissions established ; appointments ; removal ; terms of 

office. 

5. Jurisdiction of commissions. 



258 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

6. Counsel to the commissions. 

7. Secretary to the commissions. 

8. Additional officers and employees. 

9. Oath of office ; eligibility of commissioners and officers. 

10. Offices of commissions ; meetings ; official seal ; stationery. 

11. Quorum ; powers of a commissioner. 

12. Counsel to the commissions ; duties. 

13. Salaries and expenses. 

14. Payment of salaries and expenses. 

15. Certain acts prohibited. 

16. Annual report of commissions. 

17. Certified copies of papers filed to be evidence. 

18. Fees to be charged and collected by the commissions. 

19. Attendance of witnesses and their fees. 

20. Practice before the commissions ; immunity of witnesses. 

21. Court proceedings; preference. 

22. Rehearing before commission. 

23. Service and effect of orders. 

Short Title.— 

Section 1. This chapter shall be known as the pub- 
lic service commissions law, and shall apply to the pub- 
lic services herein described and to the commissions 
hereby created. 

Definitions.— 

Sec. 2. The term " commission " when used in this 
act, means either public service commission, hereby 
created, which by the terms of this act is vested with 
the power or duty in question. 

The term " commissioner," when used in this act, 
means one of the members of such commission. 

The term " corporation," when used in this act, in- 
cludes a corporation, company, association and joint- 
stock association. 

The word " person," when used in this act, includes 
an individual and a firm or copartnership. 

The term " street railroad," when used in this act, 
includes every railroad by whatsoever power operated, 
or any extension or extensions, branch or branches 
thereof, for public use in the conveyance of persons or 
property for compensation, being mainly upon, along, 
above, or below any street, avenue, road, highway, 



THE "LABOR LAW." 259 

bridge or public place in any city, village or town, and 
including all switches, spurs, tracks, right of trackage, 
subways, tunnels, stations, terminals and terminal fa- 
cilities of every kind used, operated, controlled or 
owned by or in connection with any such street rail- 
road ; but the said term " street railroad," when used in 
tli is act, shall not include a railroad constituting or 
used as part of a trunk line railroad system. 

The term " railroad," when used in this act, includes 
every railroad, other than a street railroad, by whatso- 
ever power operated for public use in the conveyance of- 
persons or property for compensation, with all bridges, 
ferries, tunnels, switches, spurs, tracks, stations and 
terminal facilities of every kind used, operated, con- 
trolled or owned by or in connection with any such 
railroad. 

The term " street railroad corporation," when used 
in this act, includes every corporation, company, asso- 
ciation, joint-stock association, partnership and person, 
their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any 
court whatsover, owning, operating, managing or con- 
trolling any street railroad or any cars or other equip- 
ment used thereon or in connection therewith. 

The term " railroad corporation," when used in this 
act, includes every corporation, company, association, 
joint-stock association, partnership and person, their 
lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court 
whatsoever, owning, operating, managing or controlling 
any railroad or any cars or other equipment used 
thereon or in connection therewith. 

The term " common carrier," when used in this act, 
includes all railroad corporations, street railroad cor- 
porations, express companies, car companies, sleeping- 
car companies, freight companies, freight-line com- 
panies and all persons and associations of persons, 
whether incorporated or not, operating such agencies 
for public use in the conveyance of persons or property 
within this state. 



260 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

The term " gas corporation," when used in this act, 
includes every corporation, company, association, joint- 
stock association, partnership and person, their lessees, 
trustees or receivers appointed by any court whatsoever, 
owning, operating, managing or controlling any plant 
or property for manufacturing and distributing and 
selling for distribution or distributing illuminating gas 
(natural or manufactured) for light, heat or power. 

The term " electrical corporation," when used in this 
act, includes every corporation, company, association, 
joint-stock association, partnership and person, their 
lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court 
whatsoever (other than a railroad or street railroad 
corporation generating electricity for its own use ex- 
clusively), owning, operating, managing or controlling 
any plant or property for generating and distributing, 
or generating and selling for distribution, or distrib- 
uting electricity for light, heat or power or for the 
transmission of electric current for such purposes. 

The term " transportation of property or freight," 
when used in this act, includes any service in connection 
with the receiving, delivery, elevation, transfer in tran- 
sit, ventilation, refrigeration, icing, storage and hand- 
ling of the property or freight transported. 

The term " municipality," when used in this act, in- 
cludes a city, village, town or lighting district, organ- 
ized as provided by a general or special act. 

Public Service Districts.— 

Sec. 3. There are hereby created two public service 
districts, to be known as the first district and the second 
district. The first district shall include the counties of 
New York, Kings, Queens and Richmond. The second 
district shall include all other counties of the state. 



Commissions Established; Appointment; Removal; Terms 
of Office.— 

Sec. 4. There shall be a public service commission 



THE " LABOR LAW." 261 

for each district, and each commission shall possess the 
powers and duties hereinafter specified, and also all 
powers necessary or proper to enable it to carry out the 
purposes of this act. The commission of the first dis- 
trict shall consist of five members and the commission of 
the second district shall consist of five members, to be 
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and 
consent of the senate, one of whom designated by the 
governor shall, during his term of office, be the chairman 
of the commission of which he is a member. Each com- 
missioner shall be a resident of the district for which he 
is appointed. 

The governor may remove any commissioner for in- 
efficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office, giving 
to him a copy of the charges against him, and an oppor- 
tunity of being publicly heard in person or by counsel 
in his own defense, upon not less than ten days' notice. 
If such commissioner shall be removed the governor 
shall file in the office of the secretary of state a com- 
plete statement of all charges made against such com- 
missioner, and his findings thereon, together with a com- 
plete record of the proceedings. 

Of the members of the commission in each district 
first appointed hereunder, one shall hold office until 
February first, nineteen hundred and nine, one until 
February first, nineteen hundred and ten, one until 
February first, nineteen hundred and eleven, one until 
February first, nineteen hundred and twelve, and one 
until February first, nineteen hundred and thirteen; 
the term of office of each commissioner so appointed 
shall begin on the first day of July, nineteen hundred 
and seven. Upon the expiration of each of such terms, 
the term of office of each commissioner -thereafter ap- 
pointed shall be five years from the first of February. 
Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unex- 
pired term. 



262 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Jurisdiction of Commissions.— 

Sec. 5. The jurisdiction, supervision, powers and 
duties of the public service commission in the first dis- 
trict shall extend under this act : 

1. To railroads and street railroads lying exclusively 
within that district, and to the persons or corporations 
owning, leasing, operating or controlling the same. 

2. To street railroads any portion of w T hose lines lies 
within that district, to all transportation of persons or 
property thereon within that district or from a point 
within either district to a point within the other dis- 
trict, and to the persons or corporations owning, oper- 
ating, controlling or leasing the said street railroads; 
provided, however, that the commission for the second 
district shall have jurisdiction over such portion of the 
lines of said street railroads as lies within the second 
district, and over the persons or corporations owning, 
operating, controlling or leasing the same, so far as 
concerns the construction, maintenance, equipment, ter- 
minal facilities and local transportation facilities of 
said street railroads within the second district. 

3. To such portion of the lines of any other railroad 
as lies within that district, and to the person or corpora- 
tion owning, leasing, operating or controlling the same, 
so far as concerns the construction, maintenance, equip- 
ment, terminal facilities and local transportation facili- 
ties, and local transportation of persons or property 
within that district. 

4. To any common carrier operating or doing busi- 
ness exclusively within that district. 

5. To the manufacture, sale or distribution of gas and 
electricity for light, heat and power in said district, 
and to the persons or corporations owning, leasing, 
operating or controlling the same. 

6. And in addition thereto, the commission in the 
first district shall have and exercise all powers hereto- 
fore conferred upon the board of rapid transit railroad 
commissioners under chapter four of the laws of eigh- 



THE ' LABOR LAW.'' 2G3 

teen hundred and ninety-one, entitled " An act to pro- 
vide for rapid transit railways in cities of over one mil- 
lion inhabitants/' and the acts amendatory thereto. 

All jurisdiction, supervision, powers and duties under 
this act not specifically granted to the public service 
commission of the first district shall be vested in, and 
be exercised by, the public service commission of the 
second district, including the regulation and control 
of all transportation of persons or property, and the 
instrumentalities connected with such transportation, 
on any railroad other than a street railroad from a 
point within either district to a point within the other 
district. 

Counsel to the Commissions.— 

Sec. 6. Each commission shall appoint as counsel 
to the commission an attorney and counselor-at-law of 
the state of New York, who shall hold office during the 
pleasure of the commission. Each counsel to the com- 
mission shall, subject to the approval of the commission, 
have the power to appoint, and at pleasure remove, at- 
torneys and counselors-at-law, to assist him in the per- 
formance of his duties, and also to employ and remove 
stenographers and process-servers. 

Secretary to the Commissions.— 

Sec. 7. Each commission shall have a secretary to be 
appointed by it and to hold office during its pleasure. 
It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a full and 
true record of all proceedings of the commission, of all 
books, maps, documents and papers ordered filed by 
the commission and of all orders made by a commis- 
sioner and of all orders made by the commission or 
approved and confirmed by it and ordered filed, and he 
shall be responsible to the commission for the safe cus- 
tody and preservation of all such documents at its office. 
Under the direction of the commission the secretary 
shall have general charge of its office, superintend its 



264: LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

clerical business and perform such other duties as the 
commission may prescribe. He shall have power and 
authority to administer oaths in all parts of the state, 
so far as the exercise of such power is properly inci- 
dental to the performance of his duty or that of the 
commission. The secretary shall designate, from time 
to time, one of the clerks appointed by the commission 
to perform the duties of secretary during his absence 
and, during such time, the clerk so designated shall at 
the office possess the powers of the secretary of the com- 
mission. 

Additional Officers and Employees. 

Sec. 8. Each commission shall have power to employ, 
during its pleasure, such officers, clerks, inspectors, ex- 
perts and employees as it may deem to be necessary 
to carry out the provisions of this act, or to perform the 
duties and exercise the powers conferred by law upon 
the commission. 

Oath of Office ; Eligibility of Commissioners and Officers.— 

Sec. 9. Each commissioner and each person ap- 
pointed to office by a commission or by counsel to a com- 
mission shall, before entering upon the duties of his 
office, take and subscribe the constitutional oath of 
office. No person shall be eligible for appointment or 
shall hold the office of commissioner or be appointed by 
a commission or by counsel to a commission to, or 
hold, any office or position under a commission, who 
holds any official relation to any common carrier, rail- 
road corporation, street railroad corporation, gas cor- 
poration or electrical corporation subject to the provis- 
ions of this act, or who owns stocks or bonds therein. 

Offices of Commissions ; Meetings ; Official Seal ; Stationery, 
Etc.— 

Sec. 10. 1. The principal office of the commission 

of the first district shall be in the borough of Manhattan, 



THE " LABOR LAW." 265 

city of New York ; and the office of the second district 
shall be in the city of Albany, in rooms designated by 
the trustees of public buildings. Each commission shall 
hold stated meetings at least once a month during the 
year at its office. Each shall have an official seal to be 
furnished and prepared by the secretary of state as pro- 
vided by law. The offices shall be supplied with all 
necessary books, maps, charts, stationery, office furni- 
ture, telephone and telegraph connections and all other 
necessary appliances, to be paid for in the same manner 
as other expenses authorized by this act. 

2. The offices of each commission shall be open for 
business between the hours of eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing and eleven o'clock at night every day in the year, 
and one or more responsible persons, to be designated 
by the commission or by the secretary under the direc- 
tion of the commission, shall be on duty at all times in 
immediate charge thereof. 

Quorum, Powers of a Commissioner.— 

Sec. 11. A majority of the commissioners shall con- 
stitute a quorum for the transaction of any business, 
for the performance of any duty or for the exercise of 
any power of the commission, and may hold meetings 
of the commission at any time or place within the state. 
Any investigation, inquiry or hearing which either com- 
mission has power to undertake or to hold may be under- 
taken or held by or before any commissioner. All in- 
vestigations, inquiries, hearings and decisions of a com- 
missioner shall be and be deemed to be the investiga- 
tions, inquiries, hearings and decisions of the commis- 
sion and every order made by a commissioner, when 
approved and confirmed by the commission and ordered 
filed in its office, shall be and be deemed to be the order 
of the commission. 

Counsel to the Commissions ; Duties.— 

Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of counsel to a commis- 



266 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

sion to represent and appear for the people of the state 
of New York and the commission in all actions and pro- 
ceedings involving any question under this act, or under 
or in reference to any act or order of the commission, 
and, if directed to do so by the commission, to intervene, 
if possible, in any action or proceeding in which any 
such question is involved; to commence and prosecute 
all actions and proceedings directed or authorized by 
the commission, and to expedite in every way possible 
final determination of all such actions and proceedings ; 
to advise the commission and each commissioner when 
so requested in regard to all matters in connection with 
the powers and duties of the commission and of the 
members thereof, and generally to perform all duties 
and services as attorney and counsel to the commission 
which the commission may reasonably require of him. 

Salaries and Expenses.— 

Sec. 13. The annual salary of each commissioner 
shall be fifteen thousand dollars (f 15,000). The annual 
salary of counsel to a commission shall be ten thousand 
dollars (f 10,000). The annual salary of a secretary to 
a commission shall be six thousand dollars ($6,000). 
All officers, clerks, inspectors, experts and employees 
of a commission, and all persons appointed by the coun- 
sel to a commission, shall receive the compensation fixed 
by the commission. 

The commissioners, counsel to the commission and 
the secretary and their officers, clerks, inspectors, ex- 
perts and other employees, shall have reimbursed to 
them all actual and necessary traveling and other ex- 
penses and disbursements incurred or made by them in 
the discharge of their official duties. 

Payment of Salaries and Expenses.— 

Sec. 14. 1. The salaries of the commissioners, the 
counsel to the commission, and the secretary to the com- 
mission in the first district shall be audited and allowed 



THE " LABOR LAW." 267 

by the state comptroller, and paid monthly by the state 
treasurer upon the order of the comptroller out of the 
funds provided therefor. All other salaries and ex- 
penses of the commission of the first district shall be 
audited and paid as follows: The board of estimate and 
apportionment of the city of New York, or other board 
or public body on which is imposed the duty and in 
which is vested the power of making appropriations of 
public moneys for the purposes of the city government 
shall, from time to time, on requisition duly made by the 
public service commission of the first district, appro- 
priate such sum or sums of money as may be requisite 
and necessary to enable it to do and perforin, or cause 
to be done and performed, the duties in this or in any 
other act prescribed, and to provide for the expenses 
and the compensation of the employees of such commis- 
sion, and such appropriation shall be made forthwith 
upon presentation of a requisition from the said com- 
mission, which shall state the purposes for which such 
moneys are required by it. In case the said board of 
estimate and apportionment, or such other board or 
public body, fail to appropriate such amount as the said 
commission deems requisite and necessary, the said com- 
mission may apply to the* appellate division of the 
supreme court in the first department, on notice to the 
board of estimate and apportionment or such other 
board or public body aforesaid, to determine what 
amount shall be appropriated for the purposes so re- 
quired and the decision of said appellate division shall 
be final and conclusive; and the city shall not be liable 
for any indebtedness incurred by the said commission 
in excess of such appropriation or appropriations. It 
shall be the duty of the auditor and comptroller of said 
city, after such appropriation shall have been duly 
made, to audit and pay the proper expenses and com- 
pensation of the employees of said commission other 
than its counsel and secretary, upon vouchers therefor, 
to be furnished by the said commission, which payments 



268 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

shall be made in like manner as payments are now made 
by the auditor, comptroller or other public officers of 
claims against and demands upon such city; and for 
the purpose of providing funds with which to pay the 
said sums, the comptroller or other chief financial officer 
of said city, is hereby authorized and directed to issue 
and sell revenue bonds of such city in anticipation of 
receipt of taxes and out of the proceeds of such bonds 
to make the payments in this section required to be 
made. The amount necessary to pay the principal and 
interest of such bonds shall be included in the estimates 
of moneys necessary to be raised by taxation to carry 
on the business of said city, and shall be made a part of 
the tax levy for the year next following the year in 
which such appropriations are made. The commission 
may provide that all or any portion of the expenses so 
incurred and paid by said city as in this section pro- 
vided, and for which said city shall be liable, shall be 
repaid, with interest, by the bidder or bidders at the 
public sale of the rights, privileges and franchises, as 
provided in chapter four of the laws of eighteen hundred 
and ninety-one, entitled " An act to provide for rapid 
transit railways in cities of over one million inhabi- 
tants," and the acts amendatory thereto. The said 
comptroller shall pay the proper salaries and the ex- 
penses of the said commission upon its requisition, for 
the remainder of the fiscal year after this act shall take 
effect, from any funds that may have been heretofore 
appropriated for the board of rapid transit railroad 
commissioners, which appropriation is hereby trans- 
ferred to the credit of the public service commission of 
the first district. In case the said appropriation shall 
not be sufficient to meet such salaries and expenses, the 
comptroller of said city is hereby authorized and 
directed to issue and sell revenue bonds of said city, in 
anticipation of receipt of taxes, as hereinbefore pro- 
vided. 

2. All salaries and expenses of the commission in the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 269 

second district shall be audited and allowed by the state 
comptroller and paid monthly by the state treasurer 
upon the order of the comptroller, out of the funds pro- 
vided therefor. 

Certain Acts Prohibited.— 

Sec. 15. Every commissioner, counsel to a commis- 
sion, the secretary of a commission, and every person 
employed or appointed to office, either by a commission 
or by the counsel to a commission, is hereby forbidden 
and prohibited to solicit, suggest, request or recommend, 
directly or indirectly, to any common carrier, railroad 
corporation or street railroad corporation, or to any of- 
ficer, attorney, agent or employee thereof, the appoint- 
ment of any person to any office, place, position or em- 
ployment. And every common carrier, railroad cor- 
poration, street railroad corporation, gas corporation 
and electrical corporation and every officer, attorney, 
agent and employee thereof, is hereby forbidden and 
prohibited to offer to any commissioner, to counsel to 
a commission, to the secretary thereof, or to any person 
employed by a commission or by the counsel to a com- 
mission, any office, place, appointment or position, or to 
offer or give to any commissioner, to counsel to a com- 
mission, to the secretary thereof, or to any officer em- 
ployed or appointed to office by the commission or by 
the counsel to the commission, any free pass or trans- 
portation or any reduction in fare to which the public 
generally are not entitled or free carriage for freight or 
property or any present, gift or gratuity of any kind. 
If any commissioner, counsel to a commission, the secre- 
tary thereof or any person employed or appointed to 
office by a commission or by counsel to a commission, 
shall violate any provision of this section he shall be 
removed from the office held by him. Every commis- 
sioner, counsel to the commission, the secretary thereof 
and every person employed or appointed to office by the 



270 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

commission or by counsel to the commission, shall be 
and be deemed to be a public officer. 

Annual Report of Commissions.— 

Sec. 16. All proceedings of each commission and all 
documents and records in its possession shall be public 
records, and each commission shall make an annual 
report to the legislature on or before the second Mon- 
day of January in each year, which shall contain copies 
of all orders issued by it, and any information in the 
possession of the commission which it shall deem of 
value to the legislature and the people of the state. 
Five hundred copies of each report, together with ab- 
stracts of the reports to such commission of common 
carriers, railroad corporations and street railroad cor- 
porations, and gas and electrical corporations, in addi- 
tion to the regular number prescribed by law, shall be 
printed as a public document of the state, bound in 
cloth, for the use of the commissioners and to be dis- 
tributed by them in their discretion to railroad, street 
railroad, gas and electrical corporations and other per- 
sons interested therein. 

Certified Copies of Papers Piled to be Evidence.— 

Sec. 17. Copies of all official documents and orders 
filed or deposited according to law in the office of either 
commission, certified by a commissioner or by the secre- 
tary of the commission to be true copies of the originals, 
under the official seal of the commission, shall be evi- 
dence in like manner as the originals. 

Pees to be Charged and Collected by the Commissions.— 

Sec. 18. Each commission shall charge and collect 
the following fees : For copies of papers and records not 
required to be certified or otherwise authenticated by 
the commission, ten cents for each folio; for certified 
copies of official documents and orders filed in its office, 
fifteen cents for each folio, and one dollar for every cer- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 271 

tificate under seal affixed thereto; for certifying a copy 
of any report made by a corporation to the commission, 
two dollars ; for each certified copy of the annual report 
of the commission, one dollar and fifty cents; for certi- 
fied copies of evidence and proceedings before the com- 
mission, fifteen cents for each folio. No fees shall be 
charged or collected for copies of papers, records or 
official documents, furnished to public officers for use 
in their official capacity, or for the annual reports of the 
commission in the ordinary course of distribution. All 
fees charged and collected by the commission of the 
first district shall belong to the city of New York, and 
shall be paid monthly, accompanied by a detailed state- 
ment thereof, into the treasury of the city to the credit 
of the general fund, and all fees charged and collected 
by the commission of the second district shall belong to 
the people of the state, and shall be paid monthly, ac- 
companied by a detailed statement thereof, into the 
treasury of the state to the credit of the general fund. 

Attendance of Witnesses and Their Fees.— 

Sec. 19. 1. All subpoenas shall be signed and issued 
by a commissioner or by the secretary of a commission 
and may be served by any person of full age. The fees 
of witnesses required to attend before a commission, or 
a commissioner, shall be two dollars for each day's at- 
tendance, and five cents for every mile of travel by the 
nearest generally traveled route in going to and from 
the place where attendance of the witness is required, 
such fees to be paid when the witness is excused from 
further attendance; and the disbursements made in the 
payment of such fees shall be audited and paid in the 
first district in the same manner provided for the pay- 
ment of expenses of the commission. 

2. If a person subpoenaed to attend before a com- 
mission, or a commissioner fails to obey the command 
of such subpoena, without reasonable cause, or if a per- 
son in attendance before a commission, or commissioner, 



272 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

shall, without reasonable cause, refuse to be sworn or 
to be examined or to answer a question or to produce 
a book or papers, when ordered so to do by the com- 
mission, or a commissioner, or to subscribe and swear 
to his deposition after it has been correctly reduced to 
writing, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may 
be prosecuted therefor in any court of competent 
criminal jurisdiction. 

If a person in attendance before a commission or a 
commissioner refuses without reasonable cause to be ex- 
amined or to answer a legal and pertinent question or 
produce a book or paper, when ordered so to do by a 
commission or a commissioner, the commission may 
apply to any justice of the supreme court upon proof by 
affidavit of the facts for an order returnable in not less 
than two nor more than five days directing such person 
to show cause before the justice who made the order, or 
any other justice of the supreme court, why he should 
not be committed to jail ; upon the return of such order 
the justice before whom the matter shall come on for 
hearing shall examine under oath such person whose 
testimony may be relevant, and such person shall be 
given an opportunity to be heard; and if the justice 
shall determine that such person has refused without 
reasonable cause or legal excuse to be examined, or to 
answer a legal and pertinent question, or to produce a 
book or paper which he was ordered to bring, he may 
forthwith, by warrant, commit the offender to jail, there 
to remain until he submits to do the act which he was so 
required to do or is discharged according to law. 

Practice Before the Commissions ; Immunity of Witnesses. — 

Sec. 20. All hearings before a commission or a com- 
missioner, shall be governed by rules to be adopted and 
prescribed by the commission. And in all investiga- 
tions, inquiries or hearings the commission, or a com- 
missioner, shall not be bound by the technical rules of 
evidence. No person shall be excused from testifying 



THE " LABOR LAW." 273 

or from producing any books or papers in any investiga- 
tion or inquiry by or upon any hearing before a com- 
mission or any commissioner, when ordered to do so by 
the commission, upon the ground that the testimony or 
evidence, books or documents required of him may tend 
to incriminate him or subject him to penalty or for- 
feiture, but no person shall be prosecuted, punished or 
subjected to any penalty or forfeiture for or on account 
of any act, transaction, matter or thing concerning 
which he shall under oath have testified or produced 
documentary evidence; provided, however, that no per- 
son so testifying shall be exempt from prosecution or 
punishment for any perjury committed by him in his 
testimony. Nothing herein contained is intended to 
give, or shall be construed as in any manner giving unto 
any corporation immunity of any kind. 

Court Proceedings; Preferences. 

Sec. 21. All actions and proceedings under this act, 
and all actions and proceedings commenced or prose- 
cuted by order of either commission, and all actions and 
proceedings to which either commission or the people of 
the state of New York may be parties, and in which any 
question arises under this act or under the railroad law, 
or under or concerning any order or action of the com- 
mission, shall be preferred over all other civil causes 
except election causes in all courts of the state of New 
York and shall be heard and determined in preference 
to all other civil business pending therein excepting 
election causes, irrespective of position on the calendar. 
The same preference shall be granted upon application 
of counsel to the commission in any action or proceed- 
ing in which he may be allowed to intervene. 

Rehearing Before Commission.— 

Sec. 22. After an order has been made by a commis- 
sion any party interested therein may apply for a re- 
hearing in respect to any matter determined therein, 



274 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and the commission may grant and hold such a rehear- 
ing if in its judgment sufficient reason therefor be made 
to appear; if a rehearing shall be granted, the same 
shall be determined by the commission within thirty 
days after the same shall be finally submitted. An ap- 
plication for such a rehearing shall not excuse any com- 
mon carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad 
corporation from complying with or obeying any order 
or any requirement of any order of the commission, or 
operate in any manner to stay or postpone the enforce- 
ment thereof except as the commission may by order 
direct. If, after such rehearing and a consideration of 
the facts, including those arising since the making of 
the order, the commission shall be of opinion that the 
original order or any part thereof is in any respect 
unjust or unwarranted, the commission may abrogate, 
change or modify the same. An order made after any 
such rehearing abrogating, changing or modifying the 
original order shall have the same force and effect as 
an original order but shall not affect any right or the 
enforcement of any right arising from or by virtue of 
the original order. 

Service and Effect of Orders.— 

Sec. 23. Every order of a commission shall be served 
upon every person or corporation to be affected thereby, 
either by personal delivery of a certified copy thereof, 
or by mailing a certified copy thereof, in a sealed pack- 
age with postage prepaid, to the person to be affected 
thereby or, in the case of a corporation, to any officer or 
agent thereof upon whom a summons may be served in 
accordance with the provisions of the code of civil pro- 
cedure. It shall be the duty of every person and corpo- 
ration to notify the commission forthwith, in writing, 
of the receipt of the certified copy of every order so 
served, and in the case of a corporation such notification 
must be signed and acknowledged by a person or officer 
duly authorized by the corporation to admit such 



THE " LABOR LAW." 275 

service. Within a time specified in the order of the com- 
mission every person and corporation upon whom it is 
served must if so required in the order notify the com- 
mission in like manner whether the terms of the order 
are accepted and will be obeyed. 

Every order of a commission shall take effect at a 
time therein specified and shall continue in force for a 
period therein designated unless earlier modified or 
abrogated by the commission or unless such order be 
unauthorized by this or any other act or be in violation 
of a provision of the constitution of the state or of the 
United States. 



ARTICLE II. 

Provisions Relating to Railroads, Street Railroads 
and Common Carriers. 

Section 25. Application of article. 

26. Adequate service; just and reasonable charges. 

27. Switch and Side-track connections ; powers of commissions 

28. Tariff schedules; publication. 

29. Changes in schedule ; notice required. 

30. Concurrence in joint tarriffs; contracts, agreements or arrange- 

ments between any carriers. 

31. Unjust discrimination. 

32. Unreasonable preference. 

33. Transportation prohibited until publication of schedules ; rates 

as fixed to be charged; passes prohibited. 

34. False billing, etc., by carrier or shipper. 

35. Discrimination prohibited; connecting lines. 

36. Long and short haul. 
37 Distribution of cars. 

38. Liability for damage to property in transit. 

39. Continuous carriage. 

40. Liability for loss or damage by violation of this act. 

Application of Article.— 

Sec 25. The provisions of this article shall apply to 
the transportation of passengers, freight or property, 



276 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

from one point to another within the state of New York, 
and to any common carrier performing such service. 

Safe and Adequate Service ; Just and Reasonable Charges.— 

Sec. 26. Every corporation, person or common car- 
rier performing a service designated in the preceding 
section, shall furnish, with respect thereto, such service 
and facilities as shall be safe and adequate and in all 
respects just and reasonable. All charges made or de- 
manded by any such corporation, person or common 
carrier for the transportation of passengers, freight or 
property or for any service rendered or to be rendered 
in connection therewith, as defined in section two of this 
act, shall be just and reasonable and not more than 
allowed by law or by order of the commission having 
jurisdiction and made as authorized by this act. Every 
unjust or unreasonable charge made or demanded for 
any such service or transportation of passengers, freight 
or property or in connection therewith or in excess of 
that allowed by law or by order of the commission is 
prohibited. 

Switch and Side Track Connections ; Powers of Commissions.— 
Sec. 27. 1. A railroad corporation, upon the appli- 
cation of any shipper tendering traffic for transporta- 
tion, shall construct, maintain and operate upon reason- 
able terms a switch connection or connections with a 
lateral line of railroad or private sidetrack owned, 
operated or controlled by such shipper, and shall, upon 
the application of any shipper, provide upon its own 
property a sidetrack and switch connection with its line 
of railroad, whenever such sidetrack and switch con- 
nection is reasonably practicable, can be put in with 
safety and the business therefor is sufficient to justify 
the same. 

2. If any railroad corporation shall fail to install or 
operate any such switch connection with a lateral line 
of railroad or any such side-track and switch connection 



THE " LABOR LAW." 277 

as aforesaid, after written application therefor has been 
made to it, any corporation or person interested may 
present the facts to the commission having jurisdiction 
by written petition, and the commission shall investi- 
gate the matters stated in such petition, and give such 
hearing thereon as it may deem necessary or proper. 
If the commission be of opinion that it is safe and prac- 
ticable to have a connection, substantially as prayed for, 
established or maintained, and that the business to be 
done thereon justifies the construction and maintenance 
thereof, it shall make an order directing the construc- 
tion and establishment thereof, specifying the reason- 
able compensation to be paid for the construction, estab- 
lishment and maintenance thereof, and may in like 
manner upon the application of the railroad corporation 
order the discontinuance of such switch connection. 

Tariff Schedules ; Publication.— 

Sec. 28. Every common carrier shall file with the 
commission having jurisdiction and shall print and keep 
open to public inspection schedules showing the rates, 
fares and charges for the transportation of passengers 
and property within the state between each point upon 
its route and all other points thereon ; and between each 
point upon its route and all points upon every route 
leased, operated or controlled by it; and between each 
point on its route or upon any route leased, operated or 
controlled by it and all points upon the route of any 
other common carrier, whenever a through route and 
joint rate shall have been established or ordered between 
any two such points. If no joint rate over a through 
route has been established, the several carriers in such 
through route shall file, print and keep open to public- 
inspection, as aforesaid, the separately established rates, 
fares and charges applied to the through transportation. 
The schedules printed as aforesaid shall plainly state 
the places between which property and passengers will 
be carried, and shall also contain the classification of 



278 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

passengers, freight or property in force, and shall also 
state separately all terminal charges, storage charges, 
icing charges, and all other charges which the commis- 
sion may require to be stated, all privileges or facilities 
granted or allowed, and any rules or regulations which 
may in any wise change, affect or determine any part, 
or the aggregate of, such aforesaid rates, fares and 
charges, or the value of the service rendered to the pas- 
senger, shipper or consignee. Such schedules shall be 
plainly printed in large type; copies thereof for the 
use of the public shall be kept posted in two public and 
conspicuous places in every depot, station and office 
of every common carrier where passengers or property 
are received for transportation, in such manner as to be 
readily accessible to and conveniently inspected by the 
public. The form of every such schedule shall be pre- 
scribed by the commission and shall conform as nearly 
as possible to the form of schedule required by the inter- 
state commerce commission under the act of congress, 
entitled : " An act to regulate commerce," approved 
February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as 
amended by act approved June twenty-ninth, nineteen 
hundred and six, and other amendments thereto. 
Where any similar schedule is required by law to be filed 
with both commissions they shall agree upon an identi- 
cal form for such schedule. The commission shall have 
power from time to time, in its discretion, to determine 
and prescribe by order such changes in the form of such 
schedules as may be found expedient. 

Changes in Schedule ; Notice Required.— 

Sec. 29. Unless the commission otherwise orders no 
change shall be made in any rate, fare or charge, or 
joint rate, fare or charge, which shall have been filed 
and published by a common carrier in compliance with 
the requirements of this act, except after thirty days' 
notice to the commission and publication for thirty days 
as required by section twenty-eight of this act, which 



THE " LABOR LAW." 279 

shall plainly state the changes proposed to be made in 
the schedule then in force, and the time when the 
changed rate, fare or charge will go into effect; and all 
proposed changes shall be shown by printing, filing and 
publishing new schedules or shall be plainly indicated 
upon the schedules in force at the time and kept open to 
public inspection. The commission, for good cause 
shown, may allow changes in rates without requiring 
the thirty days' notice and publication herein provided 
for, by duly filing and publishing in such manner as it 
may direct an order specifying the change so made and 
the time when it shall take effect; all such changes shall 
be immediately indicated upon its schedules by the 
common carrier. 

Concurrence in Joint Tariff's ; Contracts, Agreements or Ar- 
rangements Between any Carriers. — 

Sec. 30. 1. The names of the several carriers which 
are parties to any joint tariff shall be specified therein, 
and each of the parties thereto, other than the one filing 
the same, shall file with the commission such evidence 
of concurrence therein or acceptance thereof as may be 
required or approved by the commission; and where 
such evidence of concurrence or acceptance is filed, it 
shall not be necessary for the carriers filing the same 
also to file copies of the tariffs in which they are named 
as parties. 

2. Every common carrier shall file with the commis- 
sion sworn copies of every contract, agreement or ar- 
rangement with any other common carrier or common 
carriers relating in any way to the transportation of 
passengers, property or freight. 

Unjust Discrimination.— 

Sec. 31. No common carrier shall, directly or in- 
directly, by any special rate, rebate, drawback, or other 
device or method, charge, demand, collect or receive 
from any person or corporation a greater or less com- 



280 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

pensation for any service rendered or to be rendered in 
the transportation of passengers, freight or property, 
except as authorized in this act, than it charges, de- 
mands, collects or receives from any other person or 
corporation for doing a like and contemporaneous 
service in the transportation of a like kind of traffic 
under the same or substantially similar circumstances 
and conditions. 

Unreasonable Preference.— 

Sec. 32. No common carrier shall make or give any 
undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any 
person or corporation or to any locality or to any partic- 
ular description of traffic in any respect whatsoever, or 
subject any particular person or corporation or locality 
or any particular description of traffic, to any prejudice 
or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever. 

Transportation Prohibited Until Publication of Schedules; 
Rates as Fixed to be Charged ; Passes Prohibited.— 

Sec. 33. No common carrier subject to the provisions 
of this act shall after the first day of November, nine- 
teen hundred and seven, engage or participate in the 
transportation of passengers, freight or property, be- 
tween points within the state, until its schedules of 
rates, fares and charges shall have been filed and pub- 
lished in accordance with the provisions of this act. No 
common carrier shall charge, demand, collect or receive 
a greater or less or different compensation for trans- 
portation of passengers, freight or property, or for any 
service in connection therewith, than the rates, fares 
and charges applicable to such transportation as speci- 
fied in its schedules filed and in effect at the time; nor 
shall any such carrier refund or remit in any manner or 
by any device any portion of the rates, fares, or charges 
so specified, nor extend to any shipper or person any 
privileges or facilities in the transportation of pas- 
sengers or property except such as are regularly and 



THE " LABOR LAW." 281 

uniformly extended to all persons and corporations 
under like circumstances. No common carrier subject 
to the provisions of this act shall, directly or indirectly, 
issue or give any free ticket, free pass or free trans- 
portation for passengers or property between points 
within this state, except to its officers, employees, 
agents, pensioners, surgeons, physicians, attorneys-at- 
law, and their families ; to ministers of religion, officers 
and employees of railroad young men's Christian asso- 
ciations, inmates of hospitals, charitable and eleemosy- 
nary institutions and persons exclusively engaged in 
charitable and eleemosynary work; and to indigent, 
destitute and homeless persons and to such persons 
when transported by charitable societies or hospitals, 
and the necessary agents employed in such transporta- 
tion ; to inmates of the national homes or state homes 
for disabled volunteer soldiers and of soldiers' and 
sailors' homes, including those about to enter and those 
returning home after discharge, and boards of managers 
of such homes; to necessary caretakers of property in 
transit ; to employees of sleeping-car companies, express 
companies, telegraph and telephone companies doing- 
business along the line of the issuing carrier; to railway 
mail service employees, post-office inspectors, customs 
inspectors and immigration inspectors; to newsboys on 
trains, baggage agents, witnesses attending any legal 
investigation or proceeding in which the common car- 
rier is interested, persons injured in accidents or wrecks 
and physicians and nurses attending such persons; to 
the carriage free or at reduced rates of persons or prop- 
erty for the United States, state or municipal govern- 
ments, or of property to or from fairs and expositions 
for exhibit thereat. Nothing in this act shall be con- 
strued to prohibit the interchange of free or reduced 
transportation between common carriers of or for their 
officers, agents, employees, attorneys and surgeons and 
their families, nor to prohibit any common carrier from 
carrying passengers or property free, with the object 



282 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of providing relief in eases of general epidemic, pesti- 
lence or other calamitous visitation; nor to prohibit 
any common carrier from transporting persons or prop- 
erty as incident to or connected with contracts for con- 
struction, operation or maintenance, and to the extent 
only that such free transportation is provided for in the 
contract for such work. 

Provided further, that nothing in this act shall pre- 
vent the issuance of mileage, excursion, or commutation 
passenger tickets, or joint interchangeable mileage 
tickets, with special privileges as to the amount of free 
baggage that may be carried under mileage tickets of 
one thousand miles or more. But before any common 
carrier, subject to the provision of this act, shall issue 
any such mileage, excursion, commutation passenger 
ticket or joint interchangeable mileage ticket, with 
special privileges as aforesaid, it shall file with the 
commission copies of the tariffs of rates, fares or 
charges on which such tickets are to be based, together 
Avith the specifications of the amount of free baggage 
permitted to be carried under such joint interchangeable 
mileage ticket, in the same manner as common carriers 
are required to do with regard to other rates by this act. 
Nor shall anything in this act prevent the issuance of 
passenger transportation in exchange for advertising 
space in newspapers at full rates. 

False Billing, etc., by Carrier or Shipper.— 

Sec. 34. No common carrier or any officer or agent 
thereof or any person acting for or employed by it, shall 
assist, suffer or permit any person or corporation to 
obtain transportation for any passenger, freight or prop- 
erty between points within this state at less than the 
rates then established and in force in accordance with 
the schedules filed and published in accordance with the 
provisions of this act, by means of false billing, false 
classification, false weight or weighing, or false report 
of weight, or by any other device or means. No person, 



THE " LABOR LAW." 283 

corporation or any officer, agent or employee of a cor- 
poration, who shall deliver freight or property for 
transportation within the state to a common carrier, 
shall seek to obtain or obtain such transportation for 
such property at less than the rates then established and 
in force therefore, as aforesaid, by false billing, false or 
incorrect classification, false weight or weighing, false 
representation of the contents of a package, or false re- 
port or statement of weight, or by any other device or 
means, whether with or without the consent or conniv- 
ance of the common carrier, or any of its officers, agents 
or employees. 

Discrimination Prohibited, Connecting Lines.— 

Sec. 35. Every common carrier is required to afford 
all reasonable, proper and equal facilities for the inter- 
change of passenger, freight and property traffic be- 
tween the lines owned, operated, controlled or leased by 
it and the lines of every other common carrier, and for 
the prompt transfer of passengers and for the prompt 
receipt and forwarding of freight and property to and 
from its said lines; and no common carrier shall in 
any manner discriminate in respect to rates, fares 
or charges or in respect to any service or in respect 
to any charges or facilities for any such transfer in re- 
ceiving or forwarding between any two or more other 
common carriers or between passengers, freight or prop- 
erty destined to points upon the lines of any two or 
more other common carriers or in any respect with refer- 
ence to passengers, freight or property transferred or 
received from any two or more other common carriers. 
This section shall not be construed to require a common 
carrier to permit or allow any other common carrier to 
use its tracks or terminal facilities. Every common 
carrier, as such, is required to receive from every other 
common carrier, at a connecting point, freight cars of 
proper standard, and haul the same through to destina- 
tion, if the destination be upon a line owned, operated 



28A LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

or controlled by such common carrier, or if the destina- 
tion be upon a line of some other common carrier, to 
haul any car so delivered through to the connecting 
point upon the line owned, operated, controlled or leased 
by it, by way of route over which such car is billed, and 
there to deliver the same to the next connecting carrier. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed as in anywise 
limiting or modifying the duty of a common carrier to 
establish joint rates, fares and charges for the transpor- 
tation of passengers, freight and property over the lines 
owned, operated, controlled and leased by it and the 
lines of other common carriers, nor as in any manner 
limiting or modifying the power of the commission to 
require the establishment of such joint rates, fares and 
charges. A railroad corporation and a street railroad 
corporation shall not be required to interchange cars 
except on such terms and conditions as the commission 
may direct. 

Long and Short Haul. — 

Sec. 36. No common carrier, subject to the provi- 
sions of this act, shall charge or receive any greater 
compensation in the aggregate for the transportation of 
passengers or of a like kind of property, under substan- 
tially similar circumstances and conditions, for a 
shorter than for a longer distance over the same line in 
the same direction, the shorter being included within 
the longer distance; but this shall not be construed as 
authorizing any such common carrier to charge and 
receive as great a compensation for a shorter as for a 
longer distance or haul. Upon application of a common 
carrier the commission may by order authorize it to 
charge less for longer than for shorter distances for the 
transportation of passengers or property in special 
cases after investigation by the commission, but the 
order must specify and prescribe the extent to which 
the common carrier making such application is relieved 
from the operation of this section, and only to the ex- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 285 

tent so specified and prescribed shall any common car- 
rier be relieved from the operation and requirements of 
this section. 

Distribution of Cars.— 

Sec. 37. 1. Every railroad corporation or other 
common carrier engaged in the transportation of freight 
shall, upon reasonable notice, furnish to all persons and 
corporations who may apply therefor, and offer freight 
for transportation, sufficient and suitable cars for the 
transportation of such freight in car-load lots. Every 
railroad corporation and street railroad corporation 
shall have sufficient cars and motive power to meet all 
requirements for the transportation of passengers and 
property which may reasonably be anticipated, unless 
relieved therefrom by order of the commission. In case, 
at any particular time, a common carrier has not suffi- 
cient cars to meet all requirements for the transporta- 
tion of property in car-load lots, all cars available to it 
for such purposes shall be distributed among the sev- 
eral applicants therefor, without discrimination between 
shippers, localities or competitive or non-competitive 
points, but preference may always be given in the supply 
of cars for shipment of livestock or perishable property. 

2. The commission shall have power to make, and 
by order shall make, reasonable regulations for the 
furnishing and distribution of freight cars to shippers, 
for the switching of the same, for the loading and un- 
loading thereof, for demurrage charges in respect 
thereto, and for the weighing of cars and freight offered 
for shipment or transported by any common carrier. 

Liability for Damage to Property in Transit.— 

Sec. 38. Every common carrier and every railroad 
corporation and street railroad corporation shall, upon 
demand, issue either a receipt or bill of lading for all 
property delivered to it for transportation. No con- 
tract, stipulation or clause in any receipt or bill of lad- 



236 LABOE, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ing shall exempt or be held to exempt any common car- 
rier, railroad corporation or street railroad corporation 
from any liability for loss, damage or injury caused by 
it to freight or property from the time of its delivery for 
transportation until the same shall have been received 
at its destination and a reasonable time shall have 
elapsed after notice to consignee of such arrival to per- 
mit of the removal of such freight or property. Every 
common carrier, railroad corporation and street rail- 
road corporation shall be liable for all loss, damage or 
injury to property caused by delay in transit due to 
negligence while the same is being carried by it, but in 
any action to recover for damages sustained by delay in 
transit the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant 
to show that such delay was not due to negligence. 
Every common carrier and railroad corporation shall 
be liable for loss, damage and injury to property carried 
as baggage up to the full value and regardless of the 
character thereof, but the value in excess of one hundred 
and fifty dollars shall be stated upon delivery to the 
carrier, and a written receipt stating the value shall be 
issued by the carrier, who may make a reasonable 
charge for the assumption of such liability in excess of 
one hundred and fifty dollars and for the carriage of 
baggage exceeding one hundred and fifty pounds in 
weight upon a single ticket. Nothing in this section 
shall deprive any holder of such receipt or bill of lading 
of any remedy or right of action which he has under ex- 
isting law. 

Continuous Carriage.— 

Sec. 39. No common carrier shall enter into or be- 
come a party to any combination, contract, agreement or 
understanding, written or oral, express or implied, to 
prevent by any arrangement or by change of arrange- 
ment of time schedule, by carriage in different cars or 
by any other means or device whatsoever the carriage 
of freight and property from being continuous from the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 287 

place of shipment to the place of destination. No break- 
age of bulk, stoppage or interruption of carriage made 
by an} 7 common carrier shall prevent the carriage of 
freight and property from being treated as one continu- 
ous carriage from the place of shipment to the place of 
destination. Nor shall any such breakage of bulk, stop- 
page or interruption of carriage be made or permitted 
by any common carrier except it be done in good faith 
for a necessary purpose without intention to avoid or 
unnecessarily interrupt or delay the continuous carriage 
of such freight or property or to evade any of the pro- 
visions of law, of this act or of an order of the com- 
mission. 

Liability for the Loss or Damage Caused by Violation of this 
Act.— 

Sec. 40. In case a common carrier shall do, cause to 
be done or permit to be done any act, matter or thing 
prohibited, forbidden or declared to be unlawful, or 
shall omit to do any act, matter or thing required to be 
done, either by any law of the state of New York, by 
this act or by an order of the commission, such common 
carrier shall be liable to the persons or corporations 
affected thereby for all loss, damage or injury caused 
thereby or resulting therefrom, and in case of recovery, 
if the court shall find that such act or omission was wil- 
ful, it may in its discretion fix a reasonable counsel or 
attorney's fee, which fee shall be taxed and collected as 
part of the costs in the case. An action to recover for 
such loss, damage or injury may be brought in any 
court of competent jurisdiction by any such person or 
corporation. 



288 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



ARTICLE III. 

PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE POWERS OF THE COMMISSIONS 

IN RESPECT TO COMMON CARRIERS, RAILROADS AND 

STREET RAILROADS. 

Section 45. General powers and duties of commissions in respect to com- 
mon carriers, railroads and street railroads. 

46. Reports of common carriers, railroad corporations and street 

railroad corporations. 

47. Investigation of accidents. 

48. Investigations by commission. 

49. Rates and service to be fixed by the commissions. 

50. Power of commissions to order repairs or changes. 

51. Power of commissions to order changes in time schedules; 

running of additional cars and trains. 

52. Uniform system of accounts ; access to accounts, et cetera ; 

forfeitures. 

53. Franchises and privileges. 

54. Transfer of franchises or stocks. 

55. Approval of issues of stock, bonds and other forms of indebt- 

edness. 

56. Forfeiture, penalties. 

57. Summary proceedings. 

58. Penalties for other than common carriers. 

59. Action to recover penalties or forfeitures 

60. Duties of commissions as to interstate traffic. 

General Powers and Duties of Commissions in Respect to 
Common Carriers, Railroads and Street Railroads.— 

Sec. 45. 1. Each commission and each commis- 
sioner shall have power and authority to administer 
oaths, in all parts of the state, to witnesses summoned 
to testify in any inquiry, investigation, hearing or pro- 
ceeding; and also to administer oaths in all parts of the 
state whenever the exercise of such power is incidentally 
necessary or proper to enable the commission or a com- 
missioner to perform a duty or to exercise a power. 

2. Each commission shall have the general supervi- 
sion of all common carriers, railroads, street railroads, 
railroad corporations and street railroad corporations 
within its jurisdiction as hereinbefore defined, and shall 



THE " LABOR LAW." 289 

have power to and shall examine the same and keep 
informed as to their general condition, their capitaliza- 
tion, their franchises and the manner in which their 
lines, owned, leased, controlled or operated, are man- 
aged, conducted and operated, not only with respect to 
the adequacy, security and accommodation afforded by 
their service, but also with respect to their compliance 
with all provisions of law, orders of the commission and 
charter requirements. 

3. Each commission and each commissioner shall 
have power to examine all books, contracts, records, 
documents and papers of any person or corporation sub- 
ject to its supervision, and by subpoena duces tecum to 
compel production thereof. In lieu of requiring pro- 
duction of originals by subpoena duces tecum, the com- 
mission or any commissioner may require sworn copies 
of any such books, records, contracts, documents and 
papers or parts thereof to be filed with it. 

4. Either commission shall conduct a hearing and 
take testimony as to the advisability of any proposed 
change of law relating to any common carrier, railroad 
corporation or street railroad corporation, if requested 
to do so by the legislature, by the senate or assembly 
committee on railroads, or by the governor, and may 
conduct such a hearing, when requested to do so by any 
person or corporation, and shall report its conclusions 
to the officer, body, person or corporation at whose re- 
quest the hearing was held. The commission may also 
recommend the enactment of such legislation, with 
respect to any matter within its jurisdiction, as it deems 
wise or necessary in the public interest, and may draft 
or cause to be drafted such bills or acts as it may deem 
necessary or proper to enact into law the legislation 
recommended by it. 

Reports of Common Carriers, Railroad Corporations and 
Street Railroad Corporations.— 

Sec. 40. Each commission shall prescribe the form 



290 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of the annual reports required under this act to be made 
by common carriers, railroad and street railroad cor- 
porations, and may from time to time make such 
changes therein and additions thereto as it may deem 
proper; provided, however, that if any such changes or 
additions require any alteration in the method or form 
of keeping the accounts of such corporations, the com- 
mission shall give to them at least six months' notice 
before the expiration of any fiscal year of any such 
changes or additions, and on or before June thirtieth, 
in each year, shall furnish a blank form for such report. 
The contents of such report and the form thereof shall 
conform as near as may be to that required of common 
carriers under the provisions of the act of congress, 
entitled " An act to regulate commerce," approved Feb- 
ruary fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and 
the act amendatory thereof approved June twenty-ninth, 
nineteen hundred and six, and other amendments 
thereto. The commission may require such report to 
contain information in relation to rates or regulations 
concerning fares or freights, agreements or contracts 
affecting the same, so far as such rates or regulations 
pertain to transportation within the state. When the 
report of any such corporation is defective, or believed 
to be erroneous, the commission shall notify the corpora- 
tion to amend the same within thirty days. The origi- 
nals of the reports, subscribed and sworn to as pre- 
scribed by law, shall be preserved in the office of the 
commission. The commission may also require such 
corporations to file monthly reports of earnings and 
expenses within a specified time. The commission may 
require of all such corporations specific answers to 
questions upon which the commission may need in- 
formation. The annual report required to be filed by 
a common carrier, railroad or street railroad cor- 
poration shall be so filed on or before the thir- 
tieth day of September in each year. The commis- 
sion may extend the time for making and filing such 



THE " LABOR LAW." 291 

report for a period not exceeding sixty days. If such 
corporation shall fail to make and file the annual report 
within the time above specified or within the time as 
extended by the commission, or shall fail to make spe- 
cific answer to any question, or shall fail to make the 
monthly reports when required by the commission as 
herein provided, within thirty days from the time when 
it is required to make and file any such report or 
answer, such corporation shall forfeit to the state the 
sum of one hundred dollars for each and every day 
it shall continue to be in default with respect to such 
report or answer. Such forfeiture shall be recovered 
in an action brought by the commission in the name of 
the people of the state of New York. The amount recov- 
ered in any such action shall be paid into the state 
treasury and credited to the general fund. Any rail- 
road corporation operating a line partly within the 
second district and partly within the first district shall 
report to the commission of the second district ; but the 
commission of the first district may, upon reasonable 
notice, require a special report from such railroad cor- 
poration. Any street railroad corporation operating a 
line partly within the first district and partly within 
the second district shall report to the commission of the 
first district; but the commission of the second district 
may, upon reasonable notice, require a special report 
from such street railroad corporation. 

Investigation of Accidents.— 

Sec. 17. Each commission shall investigate the 
cause of all accidents on any railroad or street railroad 
within its district which result in loss of life or injury 
to persons or property, and which in its judgment shall 
require investigation. Every common carrier, railroad 
corporation and street railroad corporation is hereby 
required to give immediate notice to the commission of 
every accident happening upon any line of railroad or 
street railroad owned, operated, controlled or leased by 



292 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

it, within the territory over which such commission has 
jurisdiction in such manner as the commission may 
direct. Such notice shall not be admitted as evidence 
or used for any purpose against such common carrier, 
railroad corporation or street railroad corporation giv- 
ing such notice in any suit or action for damages grow- 
ing out of any matter mentioned in said notice. 

Investigations by Commission.— 

Sec. 48. 1. Each commission may, of its own motion, 
investigate or make inquiry, in a manner to be deter- 
mined by it, as to any act or thing done or omitted to be 
done by any common carrier, railroad corporation or 
street railroad corporation, subject to its supervision, 
and the commission must make such inquiry in regard 
to any act or thing done or omitted to be done by any 
such common carrier, railroad corporation or street 
railroad corporation in violation of any provision of 
law or in violation of any order of the commission. 

2. Complaints may be made to the proper commission 
by any person or corporation aggrieved, by petition or 
complaint in writing setting forth any thing or act done 
or omitted to be done by any common carrier, railroad 
corporation or street railroad corporation in violation, 
or claimed to be in violation, of any provision of law or 
of the terms and conditions of its franchise or charter or 
of any order of the commission. Upon the presentation 
of such a complaint the commission shall cause a copy 
thereof to be forwarded to the person or corporation 
complained of, accompanied by an order, directed to 
such person or corporation, requiring that the matters 
complained of be satisfied, or that the charges be an- 
swered in writing within a time to be specified by the 
commission. If the person or corporation complained 
of shall make reparation for any injury alleged and 
shall cease to commit, or to permit, the violation of law, 
franchise or order charged in the complaint, and shall 
notify the commission of that fact before the time al- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 293 

lowed for answer, the commission need take no further 
action upon the charges. If, however, the charges con- 
tained in such petition be not thus satisfied, and it shall 
appear to the commission that there are reasonable 
grounds therefor, it shall investigate such charges in 
such manner and by such means as it shall deem proper, 
and take such action within its powers as the facts 
justify. 

3. Whenever either commission shall investigate any 
matter complained of by any person or corporation ag- 
grieved by any act or omission of a common carrier, 
railroad corporation or street railroad corporation 
under this section it shall be its duty to make and file 
an order either dismissing the petition or complaint 
or directing the common carrier, railroad corporation 
or street railroad corporation complained of to satisfy 
the cause of complaint in wdiole or to the extent which 
the commission may specify and require. 

Rates and Service to be fixed by the Commission.— 

Sec. 49. Whenever either commission shall be of 
opinion, after a hearing, upon a complaint made as pro- 
vided in this act, that the rates, fares or charges de- 
manded, exacted, charged or collected by any common 
carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad corpora- 
tion, subject to its jurisdiction for the transportation 
of persons, freight or property within the state, or that 
the regulations or practices of such common carrier, 
railroad corporation or street railroad corporation af- 
fecting such rates are unjust, unreasonable, unjustly 
discriminatory or unduly preferential, or in anywise in 
violation of any provision of law, the commission shall 
determine the just and reasonable rates, fares and 
charges to be thereafter observed and in force as the 
maximum to be charged for the service to be performed, 
and shall fix the same by order to be served upon all 
common carriers, railroad corporations or street rail- 
road corporations by whom such rates, fares and 



294 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

charges are thereafter to be observed. And whenever 
the commission shall be of opinion, after a hearing, 
had upon its own motion or upon complaint, that the 
regulations, practices, equipment, appliances, or ser- 
vice of any such common carrier, railroad corporation 
or street railroad corporation in respect to transporta- 
tion of persons, freight or property within the state are 
unjust, unreasonable, unsafe, improper or inadequate, 
the commission shall determine the just, reasonable, 
safe, adequate and proper regulations, practices, equip- 
ment, appliances and service thereafter to be in force, 
to be observed and to be used in such transportation of 
persons, freight and property and so fix and prescribe 
the same by order to be served upon every common 
carrier, railroad corporation and street railroad cor- 
poration to be bound thereby; and thereafter it shall 
be the duty of every common carrier, railroad corpora- 
tion and street railroad corporation to observe and 
obey each and every requirement of every such order 
so served upon it, and to do everything necessary or 
proper in order to secure absolute compliance with and 
observance of every such order by all its officers, agents 
and employees. The commission shall have power by 
order to require any two or more common carriers or 
railroad corporations whose lines, owned, operated, con- 
trolled or leased, form a continuous line of transpor- 
tation or could be made to do so by the construction 
and maintenance of switch connection, to establish 
through routes and joint rates, fares and charges for 
the transportation of passengers, freight and property 
within the state as the commission may, by its order, 
designate; and in case such through routes and joint 
rates be not established by the common carriers or 
railroad corporations named in any such order within 
the time therein specified, the commission shall establish 
just and reasonable rates, fares and charges to be 
charged for such through transportation, and declare 
the portion thereof to which each common carrier or 



THE " LABOR LAW." 295 

railroad corporation affected thereby shall be entitled 
and the manner in which the same shall be paid and 
secured. 

Power of Commissions to Order Repairs or Changes.— 

Sec. 50. If, in the judgment of the commission hav- 
ing jurisdiction, repairs or improvements to or changes 
in any tracks, switches, terminals or terminal facili- 
ties, motive power, or any other property or device 
used by any common carrier, railroad corporation or 
street railroad corporation in or in connection with the 
transportation of passengers, freight or property ought 
reasonably to be made, or that any additions should 
reasonably be made thereto, in order to promote the 
security or convenience of the public or employees, or in 
order to secure adequate service or facilities for the 
transportation of passengers, freight or property, the 
commission shall, after a hearing either on its own 
motion or after complaint, make and serve an order 
directing such repairs, improvements, changes or addi- 
tions to be made within a reasonable time and in a 
manner to be specified therein, and every common car- 
rier, railroad corporation and street railroad corpora- 
tion is hereby required and directed to make all repairs, 
improvements, changes and additions required of it by 
any order of the commission served upon it. 

Power of Commissions to Order Changes in Time Schedules ; 
Running of Additional Cars and Trains.— 

Sec. 51. If,, in the judgment of the commission hav- 
ing jurisdiction, any railroad corporation or street rail- 
road corporation does not run trains enough or cars 
enough or possess or operate motive power enough, 
reasonably to accommodate the traffic, passenger and 
freight, transported by or offered for transportation 
to it, or does not run its trains or cars with sufficient 
frequency or at a reasonable or proper time having re- 
gard to safety, or does not run any train or trains, car 



296 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

or cars, upon a reasonable time schedule for the run, 
the commission shall, after a hearing either on its own 
motion or after complaint, have power to make an order 
directing any such railroad corporation or street rail- 
road corporation to increase the number of its trains 
or of its cars or its motive power or to change the time 
for starting its trains or cars or to change the time 
schedule for the run of any train or car or make any 
other suitable order that the commission may deter- 
mine reasonably necessary to accommodate and trans- 
port the traffic, passenger or freight, transported or 
offered for transportation. 

Uniform System of Accounts; Access to Accounts, Etc.; For- 
feitures.— 

Sec. 52. Each commission may, whenever it deems 
advisable, establish a uniform system of accounts to 
be used by railroad and street railroad corporations 
or other common carriers which are subject to its super- 
vision, and may prescribe the manner in which such 
accounts shall be kept. It may also in its discretion 
prescribe the forms of accounts, records and memoranda 
to be kept by such corporations, including the accounts, 
records and memoranda of the movement of traffic as 
well as the receipts and expenditures of moneys. The 
system of accounts established by the commission and 
the forms of accounts, records and memoranda pre- 
scribed by it as provided above shall conform as near as 
may be to those from time to time established and pre- 
scribed by the interstate commerce commission under 
the provisions of the act of congress entitled " An act 
to regulate commerce " approved February fourth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, as amended by the 
act approved June twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and 
six, and amendments thereto. The commission shall 
at all times have access to all accounts, records and 
memoranda kept by railroad and street railroad cor- 
porations and may prescribe the accounts in which par- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 297 

ticular outlays and receipts shall be entered, and may 
designate any of its officers or employees who shall 
thereupon have authority under the order of the com- 
mission to inspect and examine an}' and all accounts, 
records and memoranda kept by such corporations. 
Where the commission has prescribed the forms of ac- 
counts, records and memoranda to be kept by such 
corporations it shall be unlawful for them to keep any 
other accounts, records or memoranda than those so 
prescribed, or those prescribed by or under authority 
of the United States. Any employee or agent of the 
commission who divulges any fact or information which 
may come to his knowledge during the course of any 
such inspection or examination except in so far as he 
may be directed by the commission, or by a court or 
judge thereof, or authorized by law, shall be guilty of a 
misdemeanor. 

Franchises and Privileges.— 

Sec. 53. Without first having obtained the permis- 
sion and approval of the proper commission no railroad 
corporation, street railroad corporation or common car- 
rier shall begin the construction of a railroad or street 
railroad, or any extension thereof, for which prior to 
the time when this act becomes a law a certificate of 
public convenience and necessity shall not have been 
granted by the board of railroad commissioners or 
where prior to said time said corporation or common 
carrier shall not have become entitled by virtue of its 
compliance with the provisions of the railroad law to 
begin such construction; nor, except as above provided 
in this section, shall any such corporation or common 
carrier exercise any franchise or right under any pro- 
vision of the railroad law, or of any other law, not here- 
tofore lawfully exercised, without first having obtained 
the permission and approval of the proper commission. 
The commission within whose district such construction 
is to be made, or within whose district such franchise 



298 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

or right is to be exercised, shall have power to grant 
the permission and approval herein specified whenever 
it shall after due hearing determine that such construc- 
tion or such exercise of the franchise or privilege is 
necessary or convenient for the public service. And 
if such construction is to be made, or such franchise to 
be exercised in both districts, the approval of both com- 
missions shall be secured. 

Transfer of Franchises or Stocks.— 

Sec. 54. No franchise nor any right to or under any 
franchise, to own or operate a railroad or street fail- 
road shall be assigned, transferred or leased, nor shall 
any contract or agreement with reference to or affecting 
any such franchise or right be valid or of any force or 
effect whatsoever, unless the assignment, transfer, lease, 
contract or agreement shall have been approved by the 
proper commission. The permission and approval of 
the commission, to the exercise of a franchise under 
section fifty-three, or to the assignment, transfer or 
lease of a franchise under this section shall not be con- 
strued to revive or validate any lapsed or invalid fran- 
chise, or to enlarge or add to the powers and privileges 
contained in the grant of any franchise, or to waive any 
forfeiture. 

No railroad corporation, or street railroad corpora- 
tion, domestic or foreign, shall hereafter purchase or 
acquire, take or hold, any part of the capital stock of 
any railroad corporation or street railroad corporation 
or other common carrier organized or existing under or 
by virtue of the laws of this state, unless authorized 
so to do by the commission empowered by this act to 
give such consent; and save where stock shall be trans- 
ferred or held for the purpose of collateral security 
only with the consent of the commission empowered 
by this act to give such consent, no stock corporation of 
any description, domestic or foreign, other than a rail- 
road corporation or street railroad corporation, shall 



THE " LABOR LAW." 299 

purchase or acquire, take or hold, more than ten per 
centum of the total capital stock issued by any railroad 
corporation or street railroad corporation or other com- 
mon carrier organized or existing under or by virtue of 
the laws of this state. Nothing herein contained shall 
be construed to prevent the holding of stock heretofore 
lawfully acquired. Every contract, assignment, trans- 
fer or agreement for transfer of any stock by or through 
any person or corporation to any corporation, in viola- 
tion of an} T provision of this act, shall be void and of 
no effect, and no such transfer or assignment shall be 
made upon the books of any such railroad corporation 
or street railroad corporation, or shall be recognized as 
effective for any purpose. The power conferred by this 
section to approve or disapprove a transaction relating 
to franchises, rights or stock of any railroad corpora- 
tion or street railroad corporation, or other common 
carrrier, shall be exercised by the commission which is 
authorized by this act to approve the issue of stock by 
such railroad corporation or street railroad corpora- 
tion. 

Approval of Issues of Stock, Bonds and Other Forms of In- 
debtedness.— 

Sec. 55. A common carrier, railroad corporation 
or street railroad corporation organized or existing, or 
hereafter incorporated, under or by virtue of the laws of 
the state of New York, may issue stocks, bonds, notes or 
other evidence of indebtedness payable at periods of 
more than twelve months after the date thereof, when 
necessary for the acquisition of property, the construc- 
tion, completion, extension or improvement of its facili- 
ties, or for the improvement or maintenance of its ser- 
vice or for the discharge or lawful refunding of its obli- 
gations, provided and not otherwise that there shall 
have been secured from the proper commission an order 
authorizing such issue, and the amount thereof and 
stating that, in the opinion of the commission, the use 



300 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of the capital to be secured by the issue of such stock, 
bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness is rea- 
sonably required for the said purposes of the corpora- 
tion, but this provision shall not apply to any lawful 
issue of stock, to the lawful execution and delivery 
of any mortgage or to the lawful issue of bonds there- 
under, which shall have been duly approved by the 
board of railroad commissioners before the time when 
this act becomes a law. For the purpose of enabling it 
to determine whether it should issue such an order, the 
commission shall make such inquiry or investigation, 
hold such hearings and examine such witnesses, books, 
papers, documents or contracts as it may deem of im- 
portance in enabling it to reach a determination. Such 
common carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad 
corporation may issue notes, for proper corporate pur- 
poses and not in violation of any provision of this or any 
other act, payable at periods of not more than twelve 
months without such consent, but no such notes shall, in 
whole or in part, directly or indirectly be refunded by 
any issue of stock or bonds or by any evidence of indebt- 
edness running for more than twelve months without the 
consent of the proper commission. Provided, however, 
that the commission shall have no power to authorize 
the capitalization of any franchise to be a corporation 
or to authorize the capitalization of any franchise or 
the right to own, operate or enjoy any franchise what- 
soever in excess of the amount (exclusive of any tax 
or annual charge) actually paid to the state or to a 
political subdivision thereof as the consideration for the 
grant of such franchise or right; nor shall the capital 
stock of a corporation formed by the merger or consoli- 
dation of two or more other coporations, exceed the sum 
of the capital stock of the corporations so consolidated, 
at the par value thereof, or such sum and any additional 
sum actually paid in cash; nor shall any contract for 
consolidation or lease be capitalized in the stock of any 
corporation whatever; nor shall any corporation here- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 301 

after issue any bonds against or as a lien upon any con- 
tract for consolidation or merger. Whenever it shall 
happen that any railroad corporation shall own or 
operate its lines in both districts it shall, under this sec- 
tion, apply to the commission of the second district. 
Whenever it shall happen that any street railroad cor- 
poration shall own or operate its lines in both districts, 
it shall, under this section, apply to the commission of 
the first district. Any other common carrier not operat- 
ing exclusively in the first district shall apply to the 
commission of the second district. 

Forfeiture ; Penalties.— 

Sec. 56. 1. Every common carrier, railroad corpora- 
tion and street railroad corporation and all officers, 
and agents of any common carrier, railroad corporation 
or street railroad corporation shall obey, observe and 
comply with every order made by the commission, 
under authority of this act, so long as the same shall be 
and remain in force. Any common carrier, railroad 
corporation or street railroad corporation which shall 
violate any provision of this act, or which fails, omits or 
neglects to obey, observe or comply with any order or 
am' direction or requirement of the commission, shall 
forfeit to the people of the state of New York not to 
exceed the sum of five thousand dollars for each and 
every offense ; every violation of any such order or direc- 
tion or requirement, or of this act, shall be a separate 
and distinct offense, and, in case of a continuing viola- 
tion, every day's continuance thereof shall be and be 
deemed to be a separate and distinct offense. 

2. Every officer and agent of any such common car- 
rier or corporation who shall violate, or avIio procures, 
aids or abets any violation by any such common carrier 
or corporation of, any provision of this act, or who shall 
fail to obe} 7 , observe and comply witli any order of the 
commission or any provision of an order of the com- 
mission, or who procures, aids or abets any such com- 



302 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

mon ■ carrier or corporation in its failure to obey, ob- 
serve and comply with any such order or provision, shall 
be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

Summary Proceedings.— 

Sec. 57. Whenever either commission shall be of 
opinion that a common carrier, railroad corporation or 
street railroad corporation subject to its supervision is 
failing or omitting or about to fail or omit to do any- 
thing required of it by law or by order of the commis- 
sion, or is doing anything or about to do anything or 
permitting anything or about to permit anything to be 
done, contrary to or in violation of law or of any order 
of the commission, it shall direct counsel to the com- 
mission to commence an action or proceeding in the 
supreme court of the state of New York in the name of 
the commission for the purpose of having such viola- 
tions or threatened violations stopped and prevented 
either by mandamus or injunction. Counsel to the com- 
mission shall thereupon begin such action or proceed- 
ing by a petition to the supreme court alleging the viola- 
tion complained of and praying for appropriate relief 
by way of mandamus or injunction. It shall thereupon 
be the duty of the court to specify the time, not exceed- 
ing twenty days after service of a copy of the petition, 
within which the common carrier, railroad cor- 
poration or street railroad corporation complained of 
must answer the petition. In case of default in answer 
or after answer, the court shall immediately inquire 
into the facts and circumstances in such manner as the 
court shall direct without other or formal pleadings, and 
without respect to any technical requirement. Such 
other persons or corporations as the court shall deem 
necessary or proper to join as parties in order to make 
its order, judgment or writs effective, may be joined as 
parties upon application of counsel to the commission. 
The final judgment in any such action or proceeding 
shall either dismiss the action or proceeding or direct 



THE "LABOR LAW." 303 

that a writ of mandamus or an injunction or both issue 
as prayed for in the petition or in such modified or 
other form as the court may determine will afford ap- 
propriate relief. 

Penalties for Other Than Common Carriers.— 

Sec. 58. 1. Any corporation, other than a common 
carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad corpora- 
tion, which shall violate any provision of this act, or 
shall fail to obey, observe and comply with every order 
made by the commission under authority of this act, so 
long as the same shall be and remain in force, shall for- 
feit to the people of the state of New York a sum not ex- 
ceeding one thousand dollars for each and every offense; 
every such violation shall be a separate and distinct 
offense, and the penalty or forfeiture thereof shall be 
recovered in an action as provided in section fifty-nine 
of this act. 

2. Every person who, either individually or acting 
as an officer or agent of a corporation other than a com- 
mon carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad cor- 
poration, shall violate any provision of this act or fail to 
obey, observe or comply with any order made by the 
commission under this act, so long as the same shall be 
or remain in force, or who shall procure, aid or abet any 
such corporation in its violation of this act or in its 
failure to obey, observe or comply with any such order, 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

3. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this 
act relating to forfeitures and penalties the act of any 
director, officer' or other person acting for or employed 
by any common carrier, railroad corporation, street 
railroad corporation or corporation, acting within the 
scope of his official duties or employment, shall be in 
every case and be deemed to be the act of such common 
carrier, railroad corporation, street railroad corpora- 
tion or corporation. 



304 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Action to Recover Penalties or Forfeitures.— 

Sec. 59. An action to recover a penalty or a forfeiture 
under this act may be brought in any court of compe- 
tent jurisdiction in this state in the name of the people 
of the state of New York, and shall be commenced and 
prosecuted to final judgment by counsel to the commis- 
sion. In any such action all penalties and forfeitures 
incurred up to the time of commencing the same may 
be sued for and recovered therein, and the commence- 
ment of an action to recover a penalty or forfeiture shall 
not be, or be held to be, a waiver of the right to recover 
any other penalty or forfeiture ; if the defendant in such 
action shall prove that during any portion of the time 
for which it is sought to recover penalties or forfeitures 
for a violation of an order of the commission the defend- 
ant was actually and in good faith prosecuting a suit, 
action or proceeding in the courts to set aside such order, 
the court shall remit the penalties or forfeitures in- 
curred during the pendency of such suit, action or pro- 
ceeding. All moneys recovered in any such action, to- 
gether with the costs thereof, shall be paid into the state 
treasury to the credit of the general fund. 

Duties of Commissions as to Interstate Traffic. — 

Sec. 60. Either commission may investigate freight 
rates on interstate traffic on railroads within the state, 
and when such rates are, in the opinion of either com- 
mission, excessive or discriminatory or are levied or 
laid in violation of the interstate commerce law, or in 
conflict with the rulings, orders or regulations of the 
interstate commerce commission, the commission may 
apply by petition to the interstate commerce commis- 
sion for relief or may present to the interstate com- 
merce commission all facts coming to its knowledge, 
as to violations of the rulings, orders, or regulations of 
that commission or as to violations of the interstate 
commerce law. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 3Q5 



ARTICLE IV. 



PROVISIONS RELATING TO GAS AND ELECTRICAL CORPORA- 
TIONS ; REGULATION OF PRICE OF GAS AND ELECTRICITY. 

Section 65. Application of article. 

66. General powers of commissions in respect to gas and electric- 

ity. 

67. Inspection of gas and electric meters. 

68. Approval of incorporation and franchises ; certificate. 

69. Approval of issue of stock, bonds and other forms of indebt- 

edness. 

70. Approval of transfer of franchise. 

71. Complaints as to quality and price of gas and electricity, in- 

vestigation by commission ; forms of complaints. 

72. Notice and hearing; order fixing price of gas or electricity, or 

requiring improvements. 

73. Forfeiture for noncompliance with order. 

74. Summary proceedings. 

75. Defense in case of excessive charge for gas or electricity. 

76. Jurisdiction. 

77. Powers of local officers. 

Application of Article.— 

Section 65. This article shall apply to the manufac- 
ture and furnishing of gas for light, heat or power and 
the furnishing of natural gas for light, heat or power, 
and the generation, furnishing and transmission of elec- 
tricity for light, heat or power. 

General Powers of Commissions in respect to Gas and Elec- 
tricity.— 

Sec. 66. Each commission shall within its jurisdic- 
tion : 

1. Have the general supervision of all persons and 
corporations having authority under any general or 
special law or under any charter or franchise to lay 
down, erect or maintain wires, pipes, conduits, ducts 
or other fixtures in, over or under the streets, highways 
and public places of any municipality, for the purpose 
of furnishing or distributing gas or of furnishing or 



306 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

transmitting electricity for light, heat or power, or 
maintaining underground conduits or ducts for elec- 
trical conductors. 

2. Investigate and ascertain, from time to time, the 
quality of gas supplied by persons, corporations and 
municipalities; examine the methods employed by such 
persons, corporations and municipalities in manufac- 
turing and supplying gas or electricity for light, heat 
or power and in transmitting the same, and have power 
to order such improvements as will best promote the 
public interest, preserve the public health and protect 
those using such gas or electricity and those employed 
in the manufacture and distribution thereof, or in the 
maintenance and operation of the works, wires, poles, 
lines, conduits, ducts and systems maintained in con- 
nection therewith. 

3. Have power to fix the standard of illuminating 
power and purity of gas, not less than that prescribed 
by law, to be manufactured or sold by persons, corpora- 
tions or municipalities for lighting, heating or power 
purposes, and to prescribe methods of regulation of the 
electric supply system as to the use for incandescent 
lighting and fix the initial efficiency of incandescent 
lamps furnished by the persons, corporations or munici- 
palities generating and selling electric current for 
lighting, and by order to require the gas so manufac- 
tured or sold to equal the standard so fixed by it, and 
to establish the regulations as to pressure at which gas 
shall be delivered. For the purpose of determining 
whether the gas sold by such persons, corporations or 
municipalities for lighting, heating or power purposes 
conforms to the standard of illuminating power and 
purity and, of its own motion, examine and investigate 
the methods employed in manufacturing, delivering and 
supplying the gas so sold, and shall have access through 
its members or persons employed and authorized by 
it to make such examinations and investigations to 
all parts of the manufacturing plants owned, used or 



THE " LABOR LAW." 307 

operated for the manufacture or distribution of gas by 
any such person, corporation or municipality. Any em- 
ployee or agent of the commission who divulges any 
fact or information which may come to his knowledge 
during the course of any such inspection or examination, 
except in so far as he may be directed by the commis- 
sion, or by a court or judge thereof, or authorized by 
law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 

4. Have power, in its discretion, to prescribe uniform 
methods of keeping accounts, records and books, to be 
observed by the persons, corporations and municipali- 
ties engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution 
of gas and electricity for light, heat or power. 

5. Examine all persons, corporations and munici- 
palities under its supervision, keep informed as to the 
methods employed by them in the transaction of their 
business and see that their property is maintained and 
operated for the security and accommodation of the 
public and in compliance with the provisions of law and 
of their franchises and charters. 

6. Require every person and corporation under its 
supervision to submit to it an annual report, verified by 
the oath of the president, treasurer, or general manager 
thereof, showing in detail (1) the amount of its au- 
thorized capital stock and the amount thereof issued 
and outstanding; (2) the amount of its authorized 
bonded indebtedness and the amount of its bonds and 
other forms of evidence of indebtedness issued and out- 
standing; (3) its receipts and expenditures during the 
preceding year; (4) the amount paid as dividends upon 
its stock and as interest upon its bonds; (5) the name of, 
and the amount paid as salary to each officer and the 
amount paid as wages to its employees; (6) the location 
of its plant or plants and system, with a full descrip- 
tion of its property and franchises, stating in detail how 
each franchise stated to be owned was acquired, and 
(7) such other facts pertaining to the operation and 
maintenance of the plant and system, and the affairs of 



308 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

such person or corporation as may be required by the 
commission. Such reports shall be in the form, cover 
the period and be submitted at the time prescribed by 
the commission. The commission may, from time to 
time, make changes and additions in such forms, giving 
to the persons, corporations and municipalities six 
months' notice before the time fixed by the commission 
as the expiration of the fiscal year of any changes or 
additions which would require any alteration in the 
method or form of keeping their accounts for the ensu- 
ing year. When any such report is defective or believed 
to be erroneous, the commission shall notify the person, 
corporation, or municipality making such report to 
amend the same within thirty days. Any such person 
or corporation or municipality which shall neglect to 
make any such report within the time specified by the 
commission, or which shall fail to correct any such re- 
port within thirty days after notice, shall be liable to a 
penalty of one hundred dollars and an additional pen- 
alty of one hundred dollars for each day after the pre- 
scribed time for which it shall neglect to file or correct 
the same, to be sued for in the name of the people of 
the state of New York. The amount recovered in any 
such action shall be paid into the state treasury and be 
credited to the general fund. The commission may ex- 
tend the time herein limited for cause shown. 

7. Require each municipality engaged in operating 
any works or systems for the manufacture and supply- 
ing of gas or electricity to make an annual report to the 
commission, verified by the oath of the general manager 
or superintendent thereof, showing in detail, (1) the 
amount of its authorized bonded indebtedness and the 
amount of its bonds and other forms of evidence of 
indebtedness issued and outstanding for lighting pur- 
poses, (2) its receipts and expenditures during the pre- 
ceding year, (3) the amount paid as interest upon its 
bonds and upon other forms of evidence of indebtedness, 
(4) the name of and the amount paid to each person 



THE " LABOR LAW." 309 

receiving a yearly or monthly salary, and the amount 
paid as wages to employees, (5) the location of its plant 
and system with a full description of the property, and 
(6) such other facts pertaining to the operation and 
maintenance of the plant and system, as may be required 
by the commission. Such report shall be in the form, 
cover the period and be submitted at the time prescribed 
by the commission. 

8. Have power, either through its members or in- 
spectors or employees duly authorized by it, to enter in 
or upon and to inspect the property, buildings, plants, 
factories, power houses and offices of any of such cor- 
porations, persons or municipalities. 

9. Have power to examine the books and affairs of 
any such corporation, persons or municipalities, and 
to compel the production before it of books and papers 
pertaining to the affairs being investigated by it. 

10. Have power, either as a commission or through 
its members, to subpoena witnesses, take testimony and 
administer oaths to witnesses in any proceeding or ex- 
amination instituted before it, or conducted by it in 
reference to any matter within its jurisdiction under 
this article. 

Inspection of Gas and Electric Meters.— 

Sec. 67. 1. Each commission shall appoint inspect- 
ors of gas and electric meters whose duty it shall be 
when required, to inspect, examine, prove and ascertain 
the accuracy of any and all gas meters used or intended 
to be used for measuring or ascertaining the quantity of 
illuminating or fuel gas or natural gas furnished by any 
gas corporation to or for the use of any person and any 
and all electric meters used or intended to be used for 
measuring and ascertaining the quantit} 7 of electric cur- 
rent furnished for light, heat and power by any electrical 
corporation to or for the use of any person or persons 
and when found to be or made to be correct, the in- 
spector shall stamp or mark all such meters and each of 



310 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

them with some suitable device, which device shall be 
recorded in the office of the secretary of state. 

2. No corporation or person shall furnish or put in 
use any gas meter which shall not have been inspected, 
proved and sealed, or any electric meter which shall 
not have been inspected, approved, stamped or marked 
by an inspector of the commission. Every gas and 
electrical corporation shall provide or keep in and upon 
its premises a suitable and proper apparatus, to be 
approved and stamped or marked by the commission, 
for testing and proving the accuracy of gas and electric 
meters furnished for use by it, and by which apparatus 
every meter may and shall be tested, on the written 
request of the consumer to whom the same shall be fur- 
nished, and in his presence if he desires it. 

If any consumer to whom a meter has been furnished, 
shall request the commission in writing to inspect such 
meter, the commission shall have the same inspected 
and tested ; if the same on being so tested shall be found 
to be, four per cent, if an electric meter, or two per cent, 
if a gas meter, defective or incorrect to the prejudice 
of the consumer, the inspector shall order the gas or 
electrical corporation forthwith to remove the same and 
to place instead thereof a correct meter, and the expense 
of such inspection and test shall be borne by the cor- 
poration ; if the same on being so tested shall be found 
to be correct the expense of such inspection and test 
shall be borne by the consumer. A uniform reasonable 
charge shall be fixed by the commission for this service. 

Approval of Incorporation and Franchises ; Certificate. — 

Sec. 68. No gas corporation or electrical corpora- 
tion incorporated under the laws of this or any other 
state shall begin construction, or exercise any right or 
privilege under any franchise hereafter granted, or 
under any franchise heretofore granted but not hereto- 
fore actually exercised without first having obtained the 
permission and approval of the proper commission. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 311 

Before such certificate shall be issued a certified copy of 
the charter of such corporation shall be filed in the office 
of the commission, together with a verified statement of 
the president and secretary of the corporation,* showing 
that it has received the required consent of the proper 
municipal authorities. No municipality shall build, 
maintain and operate for other than municipal purposes 
any works or systems for the manufacture and supply- 
ing of gas or electricity for lighting purposes without a 
certificate of authority granted by the commission. If 
the certificate of authority is refused, no further pro- 
ceedings shall be taken before the commission, but a new 
application may be made therefor after one year from 
the date of such refusal. 

Approval of Issues of Stock, Bonds and Other Forms of In- 
debtedness.— 

Sec. 69. A gas corporation or electrical corporation 
organized or existing, or hereafter incorporated, under 
or by virtue of the laws of the state of New York, may 
issue stocks, bonds, notes or other evidence of indebted- 
ness, payable at periods of more than twelve months 
after the date thereof, when necessary for the acquisi- 
tion of property, the construction, completion, extension 
or improvement of its plant or distributing system, or 
for the improvement or maintenance of its service or 
for the discharge or lawful refunding of its obligations, 
provided and not otherwise that there shall have been 
secured from the proper commission an order authoriz- 
ing such issue, and the amount thereof, and stating that, 
in the opinion of the commission, the use of the capital to 
be secured by the issue of such stock, bonds, notes or 
other evidence of indebtedness is reasonably required 
for the said purposes of the corporation. For the pur- 
pose of enabling it to determine whether or not it should 
issue such an order, the commission shall make such in- 
quiry or investigation, hold such hearings and examine 

* So in original. 



312 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

such witnesses, books, papers, documents or contracts 
as it may deem of importance in enabling it to reach a 
determination. Such gas corporation or electrical cor- 
poration may issue notes, for proper corporate purposes 
and not in violation of any provision of this or of any 
other act, payable at periods of not more than twelve 
months without such consent; but no such notes shall, 
in whole or in part, directly or indirectly be refunded 
by any issue of stock or bonds or by any evidence of in- 
debtedness running for more than twelve months with- 
out the consent of the proper commission. Provided, 
however, that the commission shall have no power to 
authorize the capitalization of any franchise to be a 
corporation or to authorize the capitalization of any 
franchise or the right to own, operate or enjoy any 
franchise whatsoever in excess of the amount (exclusive 
of any tax or annual charge (actually paid to the state or 
to any political subdivision thereof as the consideration 
for the grant of such franchise or right. Nor shall the 
capital stock of a corporation formed by the merger or 
consolidation of two or more other corporations, exceed 
the sum of the capital stock of the corporations, so con- 
solidated, at the par value thereof, or such sum and any 
additional sum actually paid in cash ; nor shall any con- 
tract for consolidation or lease be capitalized in the 
stock of any corporation whatever; nor shall any cor- 
poration hereafter issue any bonds against or as a lien 
upon any contract for consolidation or merger. 

Approval of Transfer of Franchise.— 

Sec. 70. No gas corporation or electrical corporation 
shall transfer or lease its franchise, works or system or 
any part of such franchise, works or system to any other 
person or corporation or contract for the operation of 
its works and system, without the written consent of 
the proper commission. The permission and approval 
of the commission, to the exercise of a franchise under 
section sixty-eight of this act, or to the assignment, 



THE "LABOR LAW." 313 

transfer or lease of a franchise under this section shall 
not be construed to revive or validate an}' lapsed or 
invalid franchise or to enlarge or add to the powers 
and privileges contained in the grant of any franchise 
or to waive any forfeiture. No such corporation 
shall directly or indirectly acquire the stock or bonds 
of any other corporation incorporated for, or engaged 
in, the same or a similar business, or proposing to 
operate or operating under a franchise from the 
same or any other municipality, unless authorized 
so to do by the commission. Save where stock shall be 
transferred or held for the purpose of collateral security 
only with the consent of the commission empowered by 
this act to give such consent, no stock corporation of any 
description, domestic or foreign, other than a gas or 
electrical corporation, shall purchase or acquire, take 
or hold, more than ten per centum of the total capital 
stock issued by any gas corporation or electrical 
corporation organized or existing under or by virtue 
of the laws of this state. Nothing herein contained 
shall be construed to prevent the holding of stock 
heretofore lawfully acquired. Every contract, assign- 
ment, transfer or agreement for transfer of any stock 
by or through any person or corporation to any corpora- 
tion, in violation of any provision of this act, shall be 
void and of no effect, and no such transfer or assignment 
shall be made upon the books of any such gas corpora- 
tion, or electrical corporation, or shall be recognized as 
effective for any. purpose. 

Complaints as to Quality and Price of Gas and Electricity ; 
Investigation by Commission ; Forms of Complaint.— 

Sec. 71. Upon the complaint in writing of the mayor 

of a city, the trustees of a village or the town board of a 

town in which a person or corporation is authorized to 

manufacture, sell or supply gas or electricity for heat, 

light or power, or upon the complaint in writing of not 

less than one hundred customers or purchasers of such 



314 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

gas or electricity in cities of the first or second class, 
or of not less than fifty in cities of the third class, 
or of not less than twenty-five elsewhere, either as to 
the illuminating power, purity, pressure or price of gas 
or the initial efficiency of the electric incandescent lamp 
supply, or the regulation of the voltage of the supply 
system used for incandescent lighting, or price of elec- 
tricity sold and delivered in such municipality, the 
proper commission shall investigate as to the cause for 
such complaint. When such complaint is made, the 
commission may, by its agents, examiners and inspec- 
tors, inspect the works, system, plant and methods used 
by such person or corporation in manufacturing, trans- 
mitting and supplying such gas or electricity, and may 
examine or cause to be examined the books and papers 
of such person or corporation pertaining to the manu- 
facture, sale, transmitting and supplying of such gas 
or electricity. The form and contents of complaints 
made as provided in this section shall be prescribed by 
the commission. Such complaints shall be signed by the 
officers, or by the customers, purchasers or subscribers 
making them, who must add to their signatures their 
places of residence, by street and number, if any. 

Notice and Hearing ; Order Fixing Price of Gas or Electric- 
ity, or Requiring Improvement.— 

Sec. 72. Before proceeding under a complaint pre- 
sented as provided in section seventy-one, the commis- 
sion shall cause notice of such complaint, and the pur- 
pose thereof, to be served upon the person or corporation 
affected thereby. Such person or corporation shall have 
an opportunity to be heard in respect to the matters 
complained of at a time and place to be specified in such 
notice. If an investigation be instituted upon motion 
of the commission the person or corporation affected by 
the investigation may be permitted to appear before 
the commission at a time and place specified in the 
notice and answer all charges which may be preferred 



THE "LABOR LAW." 315 

by the commission. After a hearing and after such in- 
vestigation as may have been made by the commission 
or its officers, agents, examiners or inspectors, the com- 
mission within lawful limits may, by order, fix the maxi- 
mum price of gas or electricity to be charged by such 
corporation or person, or may order such improvement 
in the manufacture or supply of such gas, in the manu- 
facture, transmission or supply of such electricity, or in 
the methods employed by such person or corporation, as 
will in its judgment improve the service. The price so 
fixed by the commission shall be the maximum price to 
be charged by such person or corporation for gas or elec- 
tricity in such municipality until the commission shall 
upon complaint as provided in this section or upon an 
investigation conducted by it on its own motion, again 
fix the maximum price of such gas or electricity. In 
determining the price to be charged for gas or electricity 
the commission may consider all facts which in its judg- 
ment have any bearing upon a proper determination of 
the question although not set forth in the complaint and 
not within the allegations contained therein. 

Forfeiture for Noncompliance with Order.— 

Sec. 73. Every gas corporation and electrical cor- 
poration and the officers, agents or employees thereof 
shall obey, observe and comply with every order made 
by the commission under authority of this act, so long 
as the same shall be and remain in force. Any such 
corporation, or any officer, agent or employee thereof, 
who knowingly fails or neglects to obey or comply with 
such order, or any provision of this act, shall forfeit to 
the state of New York not to exceed the sum of one 
thousand dollars for each offense. Every distinct viola- 
tion of any such order or of this act, shall be a separate 
offense, and in case of a continuing violation each day 
shall be deemed a separate offense. An action to recover 
such forfeiture may be brought in any court of com- 
petent jurisdiction in this state in the name of the 



316 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

people of the state of New York, and shall be com- 
menced and prosecuted to final judgment by counsel to 
the commission. In any such action all penalties and 
forfeitures incurred up to the time of commencing the 
same may be sued for and recovered therein, and the 
commencement of an action to recover a penalty or for- 
feiture shall not be, or be held to be, a waiver of the 
right to recover any other penalty or forfeiture; if the 
defendant in such action shall prove that during any 
portion of the time for which it is sought to recover 
penalties or forfeitures for a violation of an order of 
the commission the defendant was actually and in good 
faith prosecuting the suit, action or proceeding in the 
courts to set aside such order, the court shall remit the 
penalties or forfeitures incurred during the pendency 
of such suit, action or proceeding. All moneys recov- 
ered in any such action, together with the costs thereof, 
shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the 
general fund. 

Summary Proceedings. — 

Sec. 74. Whenever either commission shall be of 
opinion that a gas corporation, electrical corporation or 
municipality within its jurisdiction is failing or omit- 
ting or about to fail or omit to do anything required of 
it by law or by order of the commission or is doing any- 
thing or about to do anything or permitting anything 
or about to permit anything to be done, contrary to or 
in violation of law or of any order of the commission, it 
shall direct counsel to the commission to commence an 
action or proceeding in the supreme court of the state 
of New York in the name of the commission for the pur- 
pose of having such violations or threatened violations 
stopped and prevented either by mandamus or injunc- 
tion. Counsel to the commission shall thereupon begin 
such action or proceeding by a petition to the supreme 
court alleging the violation complained of and praying 
for appropriate relief by way of mandamus or injunc- 



THE ''LABOR LAW." 317 

tion. It shall thereupon be the duty of the court to spec- 
ify the time not exceeding twenty days after service of 
a copy of the petition within which the gas corporation, 
electrical corporation or municipality complained of 
must answer the petition. In case of default in answer 
or after answer, the court shall immediately inquire into 
the facts and circumstances in such manner as the court 
shall direct without other or formal pleadings, and with- 
out respect to any technical requirement. Such other 
persons or corporations, as it shall seem to the court 
necessary or proper to join as parties in order to make 
its order, judgment or writs effective, may be joined as 
parties upon application of counsel to the commission. 
The final judgment in any such action or proceeding 
shall either dismiss the action or proceeding or direct 
that a writ of mandamus or an injunction or both issue 
as prayed for in the petition or in such modified or other 
form as the court may determine will afford appropriate 
relief. 

Defense in Case of Excessive Charges for G-as or Electricity.— 
Sec. 75. If it be alleged and established in an action 
brought in any court for the collection of any charge for 
gas or electricity, that a price has been demanded in ex- 
cess of that fixed by the commission or by statute in the 
municipality wherein the action arose, no recovery shall 
be had therein, but the fact that such excessive charges 
have been made shall be a complete defense to such 
action. 

Jurisdiction.— 

Sec. 7G. Whenever any corporation supplies gas or 
electricity to consumers in both districts, any applica- 
tion or report to a commission required by this act shall 
be made to the commission of the district within which 
it is mainly supplying, or proposing to supply, such 
service to consumers. But nothing herein contained 
shall be construed to deprive the commission of either 



318 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

district of the power of supervision and regulation 
within its district. And either commission shall have 
power to enter and inspect the plant of such corporation, 
wherever situated. 

Powers of Local Officers.— 

Sec. 77. If in any city of the first or second class 
there now exists or shall hereafter be created a board, 
body or officer having jurisdiction of matters pertaining 
to gas or electric service, such board, body or officer 
shall have and may exercise such power, jurisdiction 
and authority in enforcing the laws of the state and the 
orders, rules and regulations of the commission as may 
be prescribed by statute or by the commission. 



ARTICLE V. 

COMMISSIONS AND OFFICES ABOLISHED; SAVING CLAUSE; 

REPEAL. 

Section 80. Board of railroad commissioners abolished ; effect thereof. 

81. Commission of gas and electricity abolished ; effect thereof. 

82. Inspector of gas meters abolished ; effect thereof. 

83. Board of rapid transit railroad commissioners abolished ; effect 

thereof. 

84. Transfer of records. 

85. Pending actions and proceedings. 

86. Construction. 

87. Repeal. 

88. Appropriation. 

89. Time of taking effect. 

Board of Railroad Commissioners Abolished ; Effect thereof.— 
Sec. 80. On and after the taking effect of this act the 
board of railroad commissioners shall be abolished. All 
the powers and duties of such board conferred and im- 
posed by any statute of this state shall thereupon be 
exercised and performed by the public service commis- 
sions. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 319 

Commission of Gas and Electricity Abolished ; Effect 
Thereof.— 

Sec. 81. On and after the taking effect of this act 
the commission of gas and electricity shall be abolished. 
All the powers and duties of such commission conferred 
and imposed by any statute of this state shall be exer- 
cised and performed by the public service commissions. 

Inspector of Gas Meters Abolished ; Effect Thereof.— 

Sec. 82. On and after the taking effect of this act the 
offices of inspector and deputy inspectors of gas meters 
shall be abolished. All the powers and duties of such 
inspector conferred and imposed by any statute of this 
state shall be exercised and performed by the public 
service commissions. But any meter inspected, proved 
and sealed, by the said inspector of gas meters, prior to 
the taking effect of this act, shall be deemed to have 
been inspected by the commission. 

Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners Abolished , 
Effect thereof.— 

Sec. 83. On and after the taking effect of this act 
the board of rapid transit railroad commissioners shall 
be abolished. All the powers and duties of such board 
conferred and imposed by any statute of this state shall 
thereupon be exercised and performed by the public 
service commission of the first district. 

Transfer of Records.— 

Sec. 84. 1. The board of railroad commissioners, 
the commission of gas and electricity, and the inspector 
of gas meters, shall transfer and deliver to the public 
service commission of the second district all books, 
maps, papers and records of whatever description, now 
in their possession; and upon taking effect of this act, 
the said commission is authorized to take possession of 
all such books, maps, papers and records. 

2. The board of rapid transit railroad commis- 
sioners shall transfer and deliver to the public service 



320 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

commission of the first district all contracts, books, 
maps, plans, papers and records of whatever descrip- 
tion, now in their possession; and upon taking effect 
of this act, the said commission is authorized to take 
possession of all such contracts, books, maps, plans, 
papers and records. The said commission may also, at 
its pleasure, retain in its employment any person or 
persons now employed by the said board of rapid transit 
railroad commissioners, and all said persons shall be 
eligible for transfer and appointment to positions under 
the public service commission of the first district. 

Pending Actions and Proceedings.— 

Sec. 85. This act shall not affect pending actions or 
proceedings, civil or criminal, brought by or against the 
board of railroad commissioners or the commission of 
gas and electricity, or the board of rapid transit rail- 
road commissioners, but the same may be prosecuted or 
defended in the name of the public service commission, 
provided the subject-matter thereof is within the statu- 
tory jurisdiction of such commission. Any investiga- 
tion, examination or proceeding undertaken, com- 
menced or instituted by the said boards or commission 
or either of them prior to the taking effect of this act 
may be conducted and continued to a final determina- 
tion by the proper public service commission in the same 
manner under the same terms and conditions, and with 
the same effect as though such boards or commission 
had not been abolished. 

Construction .— 

Sec. 86. Wherever the terms board of railroad com- 
missioners, or commission of gas and electricity or in- 
spector of gas meters or board of rapid transit railroad 
commissioners occur in any law, contract or document 
or whenever in any law, contract or document reference 
is made to such boards, commission or inspector, such 
terms or reference shall be deemed to refer to and in- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 321 

elude the public service commissions as established by 
this act, so far as such law, contract or document per- 
tains to matters which are within the jurisdiction of the 
said public service commissions. Nothing in this act 
contained shall be deemed to apply to or operate upon 
interstate or foreign commerce. 

Repeal.— 

Sec. 87. The following acts and parts of acts, to- 
gether with all other acts amendatory of such acts, and 
all acts and parts of acts otherwise in conflict with this 
act, are hereby repealed ; 
Laws of 1905, chapter 737. 
Laws of 1905, chapter 728. 
Laws of 1904, chapter 158. 
Laws of 1902, chapter 373. 
Laws of 1896, chapter 456. 
Laws of 1894, chapter 452. 
Laws of 1892, chapter 534. 
Laws of 1891, chapter 4, sections 1, 2 and 3. 
Laws of 1890, chapter 565, sections 150 to 172 inclusive. 
Laws of 1890, chapter 566, sections 62, 63 and 64. 

Appropriation . — 

Sec. 88. There shall be appropriated for the use of 
the commissions, and for the payment of salaries and 
disbursements under this act, from money not otherwise 
appropriated, the sum of three hundred thousand dol- 
lars, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the use 
of the commission of the first district and one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars for the use of the commission 
of the second district. 

Time of Taking Effect.— 

Sec. 89. This act shall take effect July first, nine- 
teen hundred and seven. 



PART II. 

CONTINUED. 



PART II. 

DECISIONS. 



A SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS OF THE 
COURTS CONSTRUING OR AFFECTING THE LABOR LAWS 
AND LAWS RELATING THERETO TO DECEMBER 1907, 
INCLUDING DECISIONS IN REFERENCE TO THE MOST 
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ARISING UNDER THOSE LAWS, 
VIZ:- 

GENERAL.— Labor organizations, rights of workingmen, principles of law- 
labor unions, constitutional law, law of negligence, obvious 
risk, acts of superintendents, master and servant, public 
policy, etc. 

LABOR LAW. —Decisions applying, construing or affecting the following 
sections thereof. 

Section 2, 3, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 70, 71, 71, 72, 77, 
77, 78. 79, 81, 93, 110, 122, 125, 160, 161, 162, 180-4. 

PENAL CODE.— Sections 168, 170, 171a, 259, 260, 263, 264, 265, 267, 269, 
270, 277, 384h, 3841, 384m. 

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL LAW, Ch, 556 of 1894, Title 16, sec. 5. 
EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT, Ch. 600 of 1902. 
LENDERS OF MONEY TO EMPLOYEES, Ch. 77 of 1904. 
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES, Ch. 432 of 1904 and 327 and 328 of 1906. 
PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE IN CITIES, Ch. 827 of 1900, and 168 of 
1902. Employees operating garbage crematories. 

GENERAL. 



Contract to Employ Only Members of Union Lawful.— 

07. A contract made by an employer of labor by 
which he binds himself to employ and retain in his em- 
ploy only members in good standing of a single labor 
union, and a promissory note given as security therefore, 

3f>5 



326 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Held, consonant with public policy and enforcible in 
the courts of justice in this state and not a conspiracy. 
(Penal Code, section 170.) 

Jacobs v. Cohen, 183 N. Y. 207, reversing 99 App. 
Div. 481. 

Motion for re-argument denied, 184 N. Y. 524. 

Unincorporated Labor Associations. Acts of its Members 
when Unlawful.— 

68. Plaintiff a master painter had contracts to paint 
and decorate buildings in New York City and brought 
action to enjoin and restrain the defendants an unincor- 
porated labor association of expert journeymen painters 
and decorators, in said city, and against its president 
and another who was the business representative com- 
monly called a walking delegate, from doing certain acts 
threatened to be done, which it was alleged, if permitted, 
would seriously interfere with the property rights and 
business of the plaintiff, and by reason thereof causing 
serious damage. A preliminary injunction was obtained 
and upon the return of the order was vacated and on 
appeal to the Appellate Division that order was reversed 
and the injunction continued during the pendency of 
the action. ( 67 App. Div. 14. ) 

On the trial plaintiff established the material facts 
alleged but the court dismissed the complaint on the 
ground that the case could not be distinguished in prin- 
ciple from National Protective Association v. Cum- 
mings, 170 N. Y. 315, and the plaintiff appealed there- 
from. And 

Held, that the facts established at the trial did not 
bring the case within the Cumming case; nor has the 
principle there announced any application whatever, 
but that the case was squarely within the decision and 
principle laid down in Curran v. Galen, 152 N. Y. 33. 
That the question in the Cumming case was one between 
two rival labor organizations, and the court held that a 
labor union did not commit an unlawful act by refusing 



THE " LABOR LAW." 327 

to permit its members to work with fellow servants who 
were members of a rival organization; while in Curran 
v. Galen the question was Avhether a labor organization 
had the right to procure the discharge of an employee 
because he would not become a member thereof. And 
it was held by the Court of Appeals that a labor union 
had no such right. That public policy and the interests 
of society favor the utmost freedom in the citizen to 
pursue his lawful trade or calling, and if the purpose 
of an organization or combination of workingmen be to 
hamper or restrict that freedom, and through contracts 
or arrangements with employers to coerce other work- 
ingmen to become members of the organization and to 
come under its rules and conditions, under the penalty 
of the loss of their position and of deprivation of employ- 
ment, then that purpose seems clearly unlawful and 
militates against the spirit of our government and the 
nature of our institutions. The effectuation of such a 
purpose would conflict with that principle of public 
policy which prohibits monopolies and exclusive privi- 
leges. 

And held, that because plaintiff would not in a formal 
way recognize the association, or for an alleged affront 
to its walking delegate, the defendants had no right to 
maliciously cause parties who have entered into con- 
tracts with him to deliberately break them by means of 
threats to cause, or by actually causing, a strike of all 
the workmen in the employ of such parties, and that 
there is no authority for a resort to fraud, intimidation, 
force or threats, except within the limitation announced 
in the Cumming case, and upon the facts there pre- 
sented. 

And held, that the methods employed by the defend- 
ant to compel plaintiff to accede to the demands of the 
defendants were unjust, unreasonable and such as the 
law does not recognize and will not tolerate, and plain- 
tiff was entitled to relief. Beattie v. Callanan, 82 App. 
Div. 7. 



328 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

COMBINING TO DO A LAWFUL ACT NO LIA- 
BILITY BUT SEE FOLLOWING CASES: 

69. Assuming that the occupation of critic is a trade 
or calling and that an agreement made by relator with 
other members of the association, and the overt acts on 
the part of some of them in canning it into effect came 
within the letter of the above statute, whether or not a 
crime was committed depends on whether the agree- 
ment was a corrupt or unlawful one, and whether the 
acts employed to carry it out, by excluding the com- 
plainant from various theaters, were unlawful. 

Held, that their acts in preventing him were not un- 
lawful acts. People ex rel. Burnham v. Flynn, 114 App. 
Div. 578. 

Where the overt acts committed by defendants are un- 
lawful, intimidating and threatening, 

Held, unlawful. People v. Kostka, 4 N. Y. Crim, 429. 

70. Where a number of men combine to do a lawful 
act it does not subject them to either civil or criminal 
liability. National Protective Association v. Cummings, 
170 N. Y. 315. 

71. Where the controversy is between opponents in 
business, neither side trying to help the public; nor the 
public a gainer by the success of either, and the motive 
of each to be his self-help, and the real purpose is to 
strengthen the strategic position of one competitor in 
business against another. 

Held, not unlawful. Parks & Son Co. v. Nat 
Druggists' Assn., 175 N. Y. 21. 

What one man may do alone he may do in combina- 
tion with others provided they have no unlawful object 
in view. 170 N. Y. 315. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 399 



PUBLIC POLICY. 

72. If the purpose of an organization or combination 
of workingmen is to hamper or restrict the freedom of a 
citizen in pursuing his lawful trade or calling, and, 
through contracts or arrangements with employers, to 
coerce other workingmen to become members of the 
organization, and to make under its rules and condi- 
tions, under the penalty of the loss of their positions and 
of deprivation of employment. 

Held, such purpose is against public policy and un- 
lawful. Curran v. Galen, 152 N. Y. 33. 

73. Where an agreement was made between defend- 
ants and a labor union whereb}^ the former agreed for 
a certain period to employ and retain only members of 
the union in good standing, and the latter for the same 
period bound themselves to furnish the services of its 
members. 

Held, not violative of public policy. Jacobs v. Cohen, 
183 N. Y. 207. 

74. The right to combine and to co-operate for the 
promotion of such ends as the increase of wages, the 
curtailment of hours of labor, the regulation of their 
relation with their employer, or for the redress of a 
grievance, is justifiable. Their combination is lawful 
when it does not extend so far as to inflict injury upon 
others, or to oppress and crush them by excluding them 
from all employment unless gained through joining the 
labor organization, or trades union. 183 N. Y. 207. 

That freedom to contract which entitles an employer 
to make b}^ agreement his place of business wholly 
within the control of a labor union entitles him, if he so 
desires, to require of his employees that they be wholly 
independent of any labor union. 183 N. Y. 207. 

75. Defendant was accused of a violation of section 
171a of the Penal Code, in that he had entered into an 



330 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

agreement not to employ any person who was or became 
a member of a labor union. 

Held, that this section was unconstitutional as being 
an unauthorized restraint upon the freedom to contract. 
People v. Marcus, 185 N. Y. 257. 

When Agreement Void.— 

76. Plaintiff brought action to recover for injuries 
sustained by falling with an elevator or lift in the barn 
of an express company while in its employment. 

The plaintiff upon entering defendant's employment 
made an agreement in writing to assume all risks of 
accident or injury which he should meet with or sustain 
in the course of such employment, whether occasioned 
by the negligence of the said company or any of its 
members, officers, agents or employees, or otherwise; 
and that in case he should suffer any such injury he 
would at once execute and deliver to the company a good 
and sufficient release of all claims, demands and causes 
of action arising out of such injury or connected there- 
with or resulting therefrom. 

Held, that contracts are illegal at common law as be- 
ing against public policy when they are such as to in- 
juriously affect or subvert public interests. The theory 
of their invalidity is in the importance to the state that 
there shall be no relaxation of the rule of law, which 
imposes the duty of care on the part of the employer 
towards the employed. The state is interested in the 
conservation of the lives and of the healthful vigor of its 
citizens, and if employers could contract away their 
responsibility at common law, it would tend to encour- 
age on their part laxity of conduct in, if not an indiffer- 
ence to, the maintenance of x>roper and reasonable safe- 
guards to human life and limb. The rule of responsi- 
bility at common law is as just as it is strict and the 
interest of the state in its maintenance must be as- 
sumed; its policy in recent years has been evidenced in 
the progressive enactment of many laws, which regulate 



THE " LABOR LAW." 331 

the employment of children and the hours of work, and 
impose strict conditions with reference to the safety and 
healthfulness of the surroundings of the employed, in 
the factory and in the shop. Such legislation may be 
regarded as supplementing the common-law rule of the 
employer's responsibility and is illustrative of the policy 
of the state. That when an agreement is sought to be 
enforced which suspends the operation of the common 
law rule of liability and defeats the spirit of existing 
laws of the state, because tending to destroy the motive 
of the employer to be vigilant in his performance of his 
duty towards his employees and that it is the duty of 
the court to declare it to be invalid and to refuse its en- 
forcement. 

Held, that such agreement was void as against public 
policy. Johnston v. Fargo, 184 N. Y. 379; affirming 98 
App. Div. 436. 

SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT. 

Public Officer and Servant when Master Liable.— 

77. Plaintiff's intestate, a boy about seventeen, was 
shot and killed. He with one or two companions got on 
defendant's freight cars to steal a ride. Three men 
claiming to be detectives shouted to them that they were 
detectives. They jumped from the moving train and 
were pursued by one of the men along the track for some 
distance, when the man drew a pistol and fired at the 
boy, the ball entering the back of his head producing 
death. 

It was claimed that the person who shot the boy was 
the servant of the defendant and also a public officer, 
and that he killed the boy while acting in the capacity 
of such officer and not as the servant of the defendant. 

Plaintiff was nonsuited and the judgment was af- 
firmed by the Appellate Division. 

Held, that in such a case the character of the servant's 
act is to be determined in the same way and upon the 



332 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

same principles as if he was not a public officer at all. 
If lie acts maliciously or in pursuit of some purpose of 
his own, the defendant is not bound by his conduct, but 
if, while acting within the general scope of his employ- 
ment, he simply disregards his master's orders or ex- 
ceeds his powers, the master will be responsible for his 
conduct. 

Held further, that it was for the jury to determine 
whether he acted within the scope of his employment or 
whether being a public officer he acted in that capacity 
alone. Sharp v. Erie R. R, Co., 184 N. Y. 100 ; 90 App. 
Div. 502, reversed. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 

78. Plaintiff brought action to recover value of per- 
sonal property owned by him in his tailoring establish- 
ment, consisting of stock, fixtures, machinery and 
articles connected with his business. The owner of ad- 
joining premises engaged in construction of a new build- 
ing and in the progress of the work, the building con- 
taining plaintiff's shop which he occupied as a tenant, 
fell and plaintiff's property was injured and partially de- 
stroyed. The owner of the new building was made a de- 
fendant and also various other persons who by contract 
with the owner were engaged in the work, one of whom 
had a contract for the erection of the wall, another for 
shoring upand securing the adjoining building in which 
plaintiff's shop was located, and others for other parts of 
the work. The defendants interested in the appeal had 
the contract for excavating for the foundation of the 
new building and the verdict was against these two 
alone. 

Their obligation and duty was to make an excavation 
as specified. 

Held, that these defendants could not be made re- 
sponsible for any defect in shoring up the building 



THE "LABOR LAW." 333 

which was the work of another contractor. Milbaur v. 
Richard et al., 188 N. Y. 453, reversing 113 A. D. 905. 

79. Where plaintiff was a servant and woman aged 
nineteen years, worked at sorting broken part of vanilla 
beans in defendant's warehouse, who imported them 
from Mexico, she had no previous experience and after 
working two weeks her skin itched and a red swelling 
or an eruption of small blisters appeared on her arms, 
head, neck and breast, and the theory was that this dis- 
ease was caused by a poisonous substance by which she 
came in contact when at the work, and her case was 
that she was wholly ignorant of this substance, but that 
her master well knew that the work was thus danger- 
ous but failed to notify her. 

The court says, citing Mather v. Rillston, 156 U. S. 
391-399. If persons engaged in dangerous operations 
are not informed of the accompanying dangers by the 
promoters thereof or by the employers of laborers 
thereon, and such laborers remain in ignorance of the 
dangers and suffer in consequence, the employers will 
also be chargeable for the injuries sustained ; 

And the court says : It is the duty of an employer to 
warn his servant with respect to dangers known to the 
employer or discoverable by him in the exercise of reason- 
able care. 

The court further says there is no evidence but the 
contrary is fairly established, that this danger attended 
the work of sorting these cuts. Hence this case does 
not fall within the principle of those cases where the 
danger necessarily accompanied the mere doing of the 
work, like the manufacture of Paris green. 

Therefore, it was for the plaintiff to show that the 
master knew, or in the exercise of due care should know, 
of the alleged latent danger before she can assert that 
the master was negligent in not warning her thereof. 

That as the case does not present the features of dan- 
ger necessarily incident to the work or handling of these 
beans or cuts upon the unsatisfactory proof and the 



33i LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

absence of proof that the master knew or ought to 
know the danger, the judgment was wrong and a new 
trial ordered. McDonald v. Triest, 119 App. Div. 75. 

80. The deceased was an employee of the defendant 
and was descending a shaft leading into the defendant's 
mine when the cable attached to the bucket in which 
he was being lowered broke. The bucket dropped to 
the bottom of the shaft and he was killed. 

Held, That the law of the case was that the plaintiff 
in order to charge the defendant with negligence caus- 
ing the death, must prove to the satisfaction of the 
jury not only that the cable broke but that it was the 
result of defects in the cable itself, causing it to sepa- 
rate, and where the evidence is such as to authorize the 
jury to find the cable is defective. The question is 
fairly one for the determination of the jury. 

That as the defendant's negligence could only be pred- 
icated upon a defective cable parting by reason of 
such defect and if such be the conclusion of the jury 
the deceased could not be guilty of any contributory 
negligence. Owen v. Retsof Mining Co., 102 A. D., 130. 

81. In a negligence action to recover damages for 
death caused by alleged negligence of the defendant. 

Held, That the damages which can be awarded to 
plaintiff may be only such sum as is deemed to be a 
fair and just compensation for pecuniary injuries re- 
sulting from the decedent's death to the person or 
persons for whose benefit the action is brought. In 
arriving at the amount of their award the jury is sup- 
posed to be guided chiefly by their own good sense. 

They are required to judge and not merely to guess, 
and the basis for their judgment as the facts naturally 
capable of proof can give should always be present. 

That the damages to the next of kin in that respect 
(the value of a human life) are necessarily indefinite, 
prospective and contingent, but there must be some 
basis in the proof for the estimate. Human lives are not 
all of the same value to the survivors. The age and sex, 



THE "LABOR LAW." 335 

the general health and intelligence of the person killed, 
the situation and condition of the survivors and their re- 
lation to the deceased, furnished some basis for judg- 
ment. The proof so far as possible should disclose, 
what, under all the circumstances, the deceased would 
probably have contributed to the financial benefit of the 
survivors measured in money value by the judgment of 
the jury thus enlightened, and where it appears that the 
deceased had not contributed to the support of his wife 
for a number of years although a husband is usually 
legally as well as morally bound to support his wife; and 
evidence limited to the fact that nonsupport, however 
long continued, might not be persuasive to a jury. 

That the husband might not immediately recognize 
the obligation and again resume the relations which 
the law has imposed upon him. But where it is shown 
that the cessation of all marital relations and re- 
nunciation, of all marital obligations were coincident 
with and apparently resultant from, the acknowledged, 
continuous and open violation by the wife of her marital 
obligations and duty, then no such presumption could 
be properly indulged. No legal obligation rests upon 
a husband to support a wife who is living apart from 
him in open violation of her marital duties and ob- 
ligations. Then the right of the wife to support ceases 
and no proceedings for divorce are necessary to clothe 
the husband with a defence to any proceeding brought 
by the delinquent wife or in the name of the People to 
enforce a claim for support. 

If no pecuniary loss has occurred to the widow by 
his death, or if that loss be less by reason of her own 
transgressions, then to that extent at least the amount 
for which defendant might otherwise be liable would 
be reduced and defendant should be accorded the ad- 
vantage of presenting these facts for the consideration 
of the jury. 

Held, also, that a party is entitled to a distinct charge 



330 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

by the court without qualification or condition, if en- 
titled at all. 

That a court has no right to break the force of a 
charge by saying that " true he will charge so, but still 
he does not believe it to be the law." 

Orendorf v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. Co., 119 A. D. 638. 

82. In action brought by the admrx. of a laborer in 
the employ of defendant a corporation engaged in the 
business of supplying steam for motive and heating 
purposes by means of pipes laid under the streets of 
the City of New York. The intestate, with other 
laborers, was at work in a trench repairing a pipe under 
the direction of the defendant's foreman. An elbow 
upon another pipe owned and controlled by the de- 
fendant, then charged with steam split open, the steam 
escaping therefrom scalding the deceased so that he 
died therefrom a few days later. 

Held, that it has become one of the axioms of negli- 
gence law that the duty of inspection is the master's 
duty, and one that cannot be delegated so as to relieve 
the master from responsibility. That if a servant per- 
forms this duty he is the alter ego of the master and 
for any negligence in its discharge the latter is liable. 
That the rule is as follows : The master personally owes 
to his servants the duty of using ordinary care and 
diligence to provide for them a reasonably safe place 
to work, and sound and suitable appliances and ma- 
terials with which to work, and is bound to inspect and 
examine these things from time to time and use or- 
dinary care to discover and repair defects in them. 
Reasonable care involves proper inspection, and neg- 
ligence in respect to it, in such cases, as this, is the neg- 
ligence of the master, and none the less so when the 
inspection is committed to a servant. 

Koehler v. New York Steam Co. 183 N. Y. I, revers- 
ing 93 App. Div. 612. 

83. Where plaintiff was employed by defendant the 
owner and operating a blast furnace, and worked on the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 337 

top of the furnace which was about eighty feet high. 
Plaintiff and his brother were engaged in dumping 
material in the hopper at the top of the furnace, and the 
brother fell in the hopper. Plaintiff ran to the top of 
the furnace and reached down with one hand to get hold 
of his brother, and in doing so inhaled gas, fell upon the 
hopper and became unconscious, was taken down to the 
ground and revived, but his brother died. Plaintiff re- 
ceived severe burns laying him up for several weeks for 
which injuries the jury awarded him damages. 

Held, that as there was evidence which tended to 
show that if the appliances at the top of the furnace 
were out of order by reason of cracks or holes that the 
gas would escape from such opening and augment or 
increase the danger to the men working upon the plat- 
form over and above that which necessarily existed with 
the appliances in good condition and repair, and that 
the jury might have found that the injury which the 
plaintiff suffered was in consequence of such increased 
discharge of gas. 

The order of the Appellate Division reversed the judg- 
ment in favor of plaintiff entered upon the verdict of 
the jury and the order denying the motion for a new 
trial reversed and new trial granted. Stenger v. Buffalo 
Union Furnace Co., 186 N. Y. 323. 

84. In an action brought by plaintiff against de- 
fendant for assault and battery committed by defend- 
ant's clerk. 

Held, when a party is sued for an assault and battery 
committed by his servant upon another the liability 
must depend either upon proof of such express direction 
or authority of the master or upon facts and circum- 
stances from which a direction or authority of the 
master may be inferred, and that inference must be 
drawn by the jury as one of fact. The question is was 
the action within the scope of his employment, and 

Held, that the refusal of the trial judge to submit the 
question to the jury whether such assault was com- 



338 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

mitted and also whether when it was committed the 
clerk was acting within the scope of his employment, 
was error, and the judgment in plaintiff's favor re- 
versed. Collins v. Butler, 179 N. Y. 156, reversing 83 
App. Div. 12. 

85. Plaintiff's intestate, a fireman in the employ of 
defendant, was killed by the derailment of a locomotive. 
A week or so prior to the accident defendant had a 
gang of men shoveling snow from the track, and they 
removed the loose snow and found at points large 
patches of ice which were as high as the top of the rails, 
which condition was visible to the trackwalker. There 
was another fall of snow a day or two before the ac- 
cident, and on the day of the accident it was attempted 
to remove this* snow by snow plow propelled by two 
locomotives, and while this was proceeding along the 
track the plow and engine were derailed and over- 
turned and plaintiff's intestate killed. 

Held, that if it be assumed that only loose snow could 
be removed by the plow, the removal of the snow and 
ice formed by it were but separate stages or parts of 
single work. 

That the real question in the case was not of negli- 
gence in failing to furnish a safe place to work but of 
negligence in the conduct of the work. That such dis- 
tinction is of vital importance, because the furnishing 
of a place to work is a part of the master's duty, and 
in the discharge of that duty he is responsible for the 
negligence of any of his employees, while as to the 
conduct of the work he is only responsible for his own 
negligence or that of his alter ego, but not for the 
negligence of a co-servant. This rule however, has 
been somewhat modified by the Employers' Liability 
Act. 

Held, however, that if it be assumed that it was the 
trackwalker's duty to have pointed out particular places 
at which the snow plow should have been halted and 
the ice removed by hand, it was not part of the master's 



THE "LABOR LAW." 339 

duty to see to a safe roadway, but a detail of the work 
of removing the same and the negligence of the track 
walker was that of a fellow servant. That the duty of 
the trackwalker in this case to point out the ice to be 
removed was the negligence of a fellow servant ; that is 
to say, a duty as to a detail of the work. Neagle v. 
Syracuse B. & N. Y. R. R. Co., 185 N. Y. 270 ; reversing 
109 App. Div., 339. 

86. Plaintiff brought action to recover for personal 
injuries received in the yard of the defendant company, 
on a branch track which was used for hoeing the ashes 
out of engines before taking them into the roundhouse 
for certain purposes, and two men were employed, a 
hostler and a hoer ; the duty of the hostler was to run 
the engine as temporary engineer, to shake down the 
ashes in the ashpan and to remain in the cab until work 
was completed; the hoer crawled under the engine with 
two hoes, one long, the other short, and a lantern. The 
hostler, when all the ashes had been shaken down was 
to indicate the fact by calling out or ringing the bell of 
the engine; the hoer after finishing his work would 
call from beneath the engine at the point where he had 
entered, and having reached a place of safety he 
would either exhibit himself to the hostler or call out all 
right. 

There was no evidence in the case that defendant es- 
tablished any rule, written or unwritten, in regard to 
the manner in which this dangerous work should be 
prosecuted. The hostler had received no word from 
plaintiff that he had reached a place of safety but reck- 
lessly backed the engine, cutting off plaintiff's leg. 

Plaintiff claimed that defendant was negligent upon 
two grounds; (1) in its failure to make and promulgate 
a rule for the safety and protection of the plaintiff in 
his employment as a hoer of ashes and cinders under 
the locomotive in defendant's yard; (2) in its failure to 
have and maintain ashpits between rails of the track 
upon which the engines were cleaned out, when the de- 



340 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

fendant had in use and was maintaining long before 
and at the time of the accident such ashpits in its yards 
in other places along the line of its railroad. 

Held, that while not inclined to rest the opinion of 
defendant's negligence upon the second ground as 
stated, the law imposes upon a railroad company the 
duty to its employees of diligence and care not only 
to furnish proper and reasonably safe appliances and 
machinery, and skilled and careful co-employees, but also 
to make and promulgate rules which, if faithfully ob- 
served will give reasonable protection to the employees. 

Held, that it was a question for the jury as to the 
duty of the defendant to have promulgated a written 
rule in view of the dangerous surroundings of the work 
and whether its failure to do so was negligence, render- 
ing it liable to the plaintiff in damages for the injuries he 
sustained. McCoy v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. Co., 185 N Y. 
276. 

Master's Duty.— 

87. A master's duty and responsibility are deter- 
mined by the character of the act upon the commission 
or omission of which the charge of negligence is predi- 
cated, rather than upon the grade or title of a particu- 
lar employee through whose immediate default injuries 
befall one of his co-employees, and therefore the fasten- 
ing of an ordinary door or shutter, so that it will not 
fall or swing, would seem to be a detail which the master 
may delegate to a subordinate. 

And conceding all that the counsel for the respondent 
argued as to the distinction between the rule relating 
to the master's duty to provide a safe place for his ser- 
vant, and the less rigid rule governing his duty to fur- 
nish tools and appliances, the fact remains that there 
is nothing in the evidence to show that there was any- 
thing in the character or condition of the place where 
deceased was at work or in the use to which it was put 
to indicate that the defendant had failed in the per- 



THE -LABOR LAW." 341 

formance of any duty to its employees that ordinary 
prudence and care could have suggested to any master 
similarly situated. Rende v. N. Y. & Texas Steamship 
Co., 187 N. Y. 382 ; reversing 112 App. Div. 922. 

Admissibility of Expert Testimony. — 

88. Expert testimony and rule as to admissibility of 
expert evidence as a general proposition is that there are 
two classes of cases in which expert testimony is ad- 
missible. 

To one class belongs those cases in which the con- 
clusion to be drawn by the jury depends upon the ex- 
istence of facts which are not common knowledge, and 
which are peculiarily within the knowledge of men 
whose experience or study enables them to speak with 
authority upon the subject. If, in such cases, the jury 
with all the facts before them can form a conclusion 
thereon, it is their sole province to do so. 

And the other cases are those cases in which the con- 
clusion to be drawn from the facts stated as well as 
knowledge of the facts themselves depend upon pro- 
fessional or scientific knowledge or skill not within the 
range of ordinary training and intelligence. In such 
cases not only the fact but the conclusions to which they 
lead may be testified to by qualified experts. 

The governing rule deduced from the cases permitting 
the opinion of witnesses is, that the subject must be one 
of science or skill or one of which observation and ex- 
perience have given the opportunity and means of 
knowledge which exists in reasons rather than descrip- 
tive facts, and, therefore, cannot be intelligently com- 
municated to others, not familiar with the subject, so 
as to possess them with a full understanding of it. 

And where the question was whether the cause of 
the pot slipping from the hook was one for which defend- 
ant was responsible, 

Held, that it was for the jury to determine and not 
one requiring professional or scientific knowledge or 



342 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

skill but which could be answered bj persons of ordinary 
training and intelligence and was not a subject for ex- 
pert opinion. Welle v. Celluloid Co., 186 N. Y. 319 ; cit- 
ing Dorothy v. Millican, 103 N. Y. 527; Schutz v. Union 
R. Co., 181 N. Y. 33; Van Wychlen v. Brooklyn, 118 
N. Y. 424; 46 Hun 66. 

Negligence, Risk Assumed, etc. 

89. In an action to recover for the alleged negligent 
killing of plaintiff's intestate, a laborer in the employ of 
the defendant The Troy Brick Co. At the time of the 
killing of plaintiff's intestate he was engaged, in com- 
pany with other laborers, in digging clay at the foot of 
a clay bank in the defendant's brick yard, when a por- 
tion of the bank gave way, killing plaintiff's intestate 
and two other laborers. 

The action was brought under the provisions of the 
" Employers' Liability Act " and a verdict was rendered 
in plaintiff's favor, which was set aside by the trial 
court and judgment dismissing the complaint rendered, 
which was affirmed by the Appellate Division. 

Held, Werner, J., that it could not be said as matter 
of law that this common laborer, whose business it was 
to dig and to shovel, was chargeable with the same 
knowledge of existing physical conditions or possibili- 
ties as those whose primary duty it was to know all 
that a reasonably careful and prudent employer should 
have known or anticipated from what had gone before. 

And that it was a question whether there was any 
evidence warranting the jury in finding that defendant 
had omitted to perform some affirmative duty which 
it owed to its employees engaged in working upon that 
bank, and that as it appeared there was such evidence, 
the question whether the deceased assumed the risk or 
was guilty of contributory negligence under the cir- 
cumstances detailed were questions of fact for the jury 
and not of law. Reilly v. Troy Brick Co., 184 N. Y. 
399;revg. 108 A. D. 108. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 343 

90. Plaintiff's wife went to the defendant's drug store 
and requested something to wash out a wound or cut, 
which her husband had received on his knee. The clerk 
gave her a small bottle bearing the words among others, 
" Poison, Carbolic Acid," which she took home and ap- 
plied to the wound. The result was that the knee was 
burned and turned black and caused serious trouble. 
Upon chemical analysis the solution was found to con- 
tain between 87 and 90 per cent of carbolic acid. 

Held, That it was a negligent act for the druggist to 
sell a solution of carbolic acid of such strength. Also 
held, that the general rule is that an act done by the 
servant in prosecution of the business that the servant 
was employed by the master to do is chargeable to the 
master and that this rule applies in the case of the prep- 
aration and sale of drugs and that the plaintiff had a 
right to suppose that the defendant and his employees 
would perform their duty with care and when applied 
to for some solution to wash a wound that they would 
furnish something if not efficient, at least harmless, and 
was warranted in applying it without further inquiry. 
Plorst v. Walter, 53 Misc. 594. 

91. Where plaintiff was injured by a falling brick 
striking him on the head while at work for the defend- 
ant on a building, and the fall of the brick was caused 
by some of the defendant's workmen then engaged in 
working over the floor upon which the plaintiff was at 
work, and he was directed by the defendant's foreman 
to do this work, and was assured there was no one at 
work overhead and that the workmen on the upper floor 
had gone for the day. 

Held, that although appellant claims that the injury 
was caused by the negligence of a fellow servant, yet 
the plaintiff had an absolute assurance of his safety 
and the defendant is liable. Graham v. VanHauten, Su- 
preme Court, App. Term March 1907, 53 Misc. 643. 

92. Where the trial justice dismissed the complaint 
on the ground that the accident was caused solely by 



344 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the negligence of a co-employee, and it is apparent that 
if the case had been submitted to the jury it could have 
found that the decedent was killed partly by the negli- 
gence of a co-employee and partly by the negligence of 
the master. 

Held, on appeal, That then plaintiff would be entitled 
to recover under the rule of law that where an injury to 
an employee is caused partly by the negligence of an- 
other employee and partly by that of the master, the 
negligence of the co-employee will not excuse the de- 
fendant from the consequences of his own fault. 

And that it was a question for the jury and should be 
a new trial. Kelley v. D. L. & W. R. R. Co., 118 App. 
Div. 432. 

93. Plaintiff a motorman on Schenectady Railway 
Co. from Albany to Schenectady, was injured in a col- 
lision between his a passenger car and a work car travel- 
ing in the opposite direction. At the time plaintiff's car 
was being run on a 45-minute schedule according to in- 
structions given to the plaintiff, while the defendant 
through its public time-table was informing its em- 
ployees that the running time was one hour, and no pre- 
caution was taken by the defendant to counteract the 
information thus promulgated. 

Held, That the defendant's culpability rests in the 
fact that it disregarded and violated its own rules, if, 
as the jury might have found, it changed the schedule 
time of the plaintiff's car while not publishing such 
change or giving notice thereof in any manner to its 
employees. 

That it was incumbent upon defendant either by the 
promulgation of time-table or by other suitable method 
or regulation to operate its cars with a view to the 
safety of its employees. 

Held, that the question of the defendant's negligence 
should have been submitted to the jury. Baldwin v. 
Schenectady Railway Co., 118 App. Div. 441. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 345 

DECISION RELATING TO THE "LABOR LAW." 

( Section 2. ) 

94. Section 2 considered with section 81 and Em- 
ployers' Liability Act and, 

Held, that the rule that defendant needed no actual 
notice where he is presumed to know his own acts and 
therefore had such notice, and the charge to the jury 
by the trial judge that it must be shown that the em- 
ployer had actual knowledge of the defect complained 
of and granted a nonsuit on the ground that there was 
no evidence from which the jury might find personal 
knowledge on the part of the employer or any superior- 
person of the defect. 

Held, error and that such nonsuit was erroneously 
granted and that the rule that defendant needed no 
actual notice because it was presumed to know its own 
acts and had such notice, applied. Johnson v. Onon- 
daga Paper Co., 112 App. Div. 667; citing Twist v. 
Rochester, 37 App. Div. 307. See ante pages 106-107. 
&c. People v. Williams, 116 A. D. 387. 

(Section 3.) 

The Labor Law, Chapter 415 of the Laws of 1897, Section 3 
Prohibiting a ContractorTrom Employing his Men More 
than Eight Hours a Day on City, County or State Work, 
Declared Unconstitutional. 

95. In an action brought by Harry Cossey to compel 
payment by the city of New York for scows manufac- 
tured for the street cleaning department. Payment was 
refused on the ground that the terms of the contract had 
been violated by him in employing his men over eight 
hours a day, which was not denied, but it was claimed 
that the law was unconstitutional. 

Held, Cullen, Chief Judge, with Werner, Judge, con- 
curring, in his opinion as to the law's unconstitution- 



346 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ality, bases his opinion on the Rogers case, and takes 
the ground that the principle involved in this case is 
similar to that in People ex rel. Rogers against Coler, 
in which case it was held that the statute was uncon- 
stitutional in so far as it involves the question of the 
prevailing rate of wages. That the difference in cir- 
cumstances would not justify a distinction in principle, 
and that the Rogers case had not been overthrown by 
subsequent cases in this court or in the Supreme Court 
of the United States, and that the Rogers case stands 
and applies in this case. 

The chief judge further says : " I fear that the many 
outrages of labor organizations or of some of their mem- 
bers have not only excited just indignation, but at times 
have frightened courts into plain legal inconsistencies 
and into the enunciation of doctrines which, if asserted 
in litigations arising under any other subject than that 
of labor legislation would meet with scant courtesy or 
consideration. The decision, therefore, can stand only 
on one ground, the unconstitutional interference by the 
legislature with the right of the municipality. That 
proposition having been explicitly decided in the Rogers 
case, I feel it my duty to follow it, regardless of my own 
opinion upon the question." 

Judges O'Brien, Martin and Vann hold that the law 
is unconstitutional in that it deprives an individual of 
property without due process of law. 

Judge O'Brien says : " One of the grounds upon 
which the Rogers case rests is that the statute there 
considered, and now before us, deprived the contractor 
of his property without due process of law, and the 
learned chief judge, as I understand the opinion, asserts 
that this ground has been entirely swept away by the 
case of Atkins v. Kansas, in which the United States 
Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of a contractor 
for violating the Eight Hour Law of that State. I do 
not concur in that view. In my opinion the Kansas 
case does not decide or sweep away what was held in 



THE " LABOR LAW." 347 

the Rogers case and should hold in this case, namely, 
that the statute in question violates the Constitution 
of the State in that it deprives the relator in this ea«e 
as it did in the Rogers case of his property without due 
process of law. 

Judge Haight dissents and holds that the constitu- 
tionality of the law can be sustained by the fact that it 
is a police regulation in the interest of public health 
and morality. Cossey, Appellant, v. Grout, Comptroller 
of the City of New York, Court of Appeals, November 
29, 1904, 179 N. Y. 417, reversing 96 App. Div. 607, and 
trial court. 

(Section 15.) 

96. Section 15 of the Labor Law providing that a 
union or association of employees may adopt a device in 
the form of a label for the purpose of designating the 
products of the labor of the members thereof. 

Section 16 providing for penalty, &c, against one 
using the label without authority and authorizing in- 
junction, &c, and the amendment of 1902 striking out 
the penalty and making the use of the label a crime. 
The statute at least so far as the equitable remedy is 
concerned is not penal. The statute has conferred a 
property right in such a label even if its originator did 
not already possess it. These rights could be sold or 
assigned unless these acts were prohibited. Fairly con- 
strued the statute does mean to prohibit such an assign- 
ment. Not, however, a license conferred by the union 
or association' upon some of its members or legal 
branches to use the label in a specified locality. 

What the legislature meant and all that it meant was 
that the parties injured might maintain such action and 
demurrer to the plaintiff's complaint overruled. Lynch 
as Pres. &c. and Taylor as Pres. &c. v. J. S. P. Co., 115 
App. Div. 911-912 &c. 



348 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 



(Section 18.) 

Scaffold.— 

97. Section 18. Plaintiff brought action to recover 
for injuries sustained while in the employ of defendants, 
while he was engaged in putting a beam in one of 
the pockets of a scow which the defendants were re- 
pairing. In order to facilitate the placing of a beam 
in position near the top of the pocket a scaffold was 
constructed out of two three-inch planks spliced to- 
gether by nails and supported at the end by rope looped 
around the plank and fastened to the bulkhead. While 
plaintiff was upon this scaffold putting the beam in 
position, the plank broke causing him to fall to the 
bottom of the pocket about eight feet, causing the in- 
juries for which he sought to recover. 

Held, that under section 18 of the Labor Law, it was 
the duty of defendants to supply their workmen with 
a safe and proper scaffold, not an unsafe and improper 
one. It was the duty of the master to furnish proper 
and safe material for the construction of the scaffold, 
and to construct it in such manner as to make it safe 
for him to work upon. It was his duty to use only safe 
and proper material. If, however, the plank used by 
him is a plank furnished by the defendants and he did 
not know at the time of using it that it was unsafe and 
improper, he would not be chargeable with contribu- 
tory negligence, and, 

Held, that the request of defendant's counsel that 
the court charge in that connection " that if the master 
directed the plaintiff to construct it (referring to the 
scaffold) the master would not be responsible," was too 
broad and the court's refusal to so charge is not a 
ground for a reversal of the verdict and judgment in 
favor of the plaintiff. Madden v. Hughes, 185 N. Y. 
466. 

98. Where an action is brought under Section 18 of 



THE " LABOR LAW." 34-9 

the Labor Law and so tried and submitted to the jury, 
the recovery must be sustained, if at all, under that 
statute. 

The trial court held as matter of law that the relation 
of master and servant existed between the defendant 
and plaintiff, and that the structure was a scaffold 
under section 18 of the statute. It submitted to the jury 
only the question whether the scaffold was safe, suitable 
and proper, charging that if it was not so the plaintiff 
was entitled to recover. The defect complained of was 
only that the plank was not strong enough for the pur- 
poses for which it was used. 

On appeal, held; that the question as to whether the 
relation of master and servant existed was a question 
for the jury and not the court. 

That this structure was not such a scaffold as was 
within the contemplation of the Legislature in enacting 
the Labor Law. Williams v. First National Bank, 118 
App. Div. 555. 

99. Plaintiff, a carpenter, was working in defend- 
ant's bank building and with another carpenter who was 
standing upon a plank laid across two wooden horses, 
engaged in putting a casing into a window frame. The 
plank being eight to ten feet above the floor. It broke 
and the men fell, plaintiff receiving the injuries com- 
plained of. 

The action was brought under section 18 of the Labor 
Law and was so tried and submitted to the jury. 

Held, that the recovery must therefore be sustained, 
if at all, under' the statute (said section 18). 

Held, also that the question as to whether the relation 
master and servant existed between plaintiff and de- 
fendant was a question for the jury and not for the 
court, and if for the court it must be based solely upon 
the evidence given in behalf of the defendant and should 
have been determined in defendant's rather than plain- 
tiff's favor, and 

Held, that this structure was not such a scaffold as 



350 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

was within the contemplation of the legislature in enact- 
ing the Labor Law. Williams v. First National Bank, 
118 App. Div. 555 ; citing Schapp v. Bloomer, 181 N. Y. 
125. 

That under these circumstances defendant could not 
be held liable for the negligence to plaintiff for which 
plaintiff and his co-laborer were alone responsible. 118 
App. Div. 555-558. 

100. Where plaintiff an employee for the contractors 
for the iron work and defendant was contractor for the 
brick work of a building in the course of erection, and 
scaffolding on which defendant's masons were working 
was laid on tiers of wooden horses above the cellar 
bottom, and a hodcarrier in the employ of defendant 
dumped a hod of brick on one end of the scaffold, and 
two bricks went over the end of the shorter plank of 
the scaffold and struck plaintiff on the head, inflicting 
injuries for which he complains, but plaintiff nor any 
other about the building habitually worked underneath 
the scaffolding. 

Held, that it was incumbent upon plaintiff to prove 
knowledge on the part of the hodcarrier or such a situa- 
tion as would show he ought to have had knowledge that 
some one was underneath and liable to be injured by 
falling brick. 

Held also, that the charge of the trial court to the jury 
that the jury should take into consideration whether or 
not the defendant used due care in the construction of 
the scaffold with respect to uneven planks, to which de- 
fendant excepted was error, and that there was no obli- 
gation on the part of defendant to construct its scaffold- 
ing so that material would not fall off or through it 
unless men were customarily at work or likely to pass 
under it. That the scaffold was sufficient for the pur- 
pose for which it was erected and there was no negli- 
gence on the part of the defendant in failing to guard 
against material falling from it, as there was no reason 
to apprehend that any one would be underneath who 



THE ''LABOR LAV/." 351 

might be injured thereby. Choyee v. Hopper & Son, 120 
App. Div. 177. 

101. Sections 18 and 19. Scaffold. Held not to in- 
clude among the specified cases therein mentioned ordi- 
nary staging put up in a room four to six feet above the 
floor to facilitate the. placing of fixtures and is not a 
scaffold contemplated by the provisions of this act. 
Schapp v. Bloomer, 181 N. Y. 125, reversing 90 App. 
Div. 612. 

102. Plaintiff's decedent was one of defendant's 
workmen building a passenger platform on one of the 
stations of defendant's elevated railroad. A frame- 
work structure called a hoist was used to serve the 
office of a derrick, i. e. the block and fall were sus- 
pended from it. This hoist rested on extended ends of 
ties and was fastened and braced thereto to hold it up- 
right and in position. It broke from its fastening and 
fell over into the street from the suspended weight of 
the tie and killed plaintiff's decedent who helped to 
fasten the hoist in position and drove some of the nails. 
It was claimed by plaintiff that the system or method 
of fastening and bracing the derrick was not a safe, 
sufficient or scientific one. The plaintiff was nonsuited 
at the trial on the ground that the defendant was not 
guilty of negligence and that the negligence of the de- 
ceased and his fellow workmen who included a foreman 
in charge caused the accident. 

Held, Gaynor, J., that under section 18 of the Labor 
Law it was a question of fact for the jury whether the 
defendant's method or system of placing and securing 
the hoist was a sufficient one. That it was for the 
employer to adopt a safe method or system and that 
duty could not be evaded by delegation. Not only was 
the said statute in the way of such delegation, but that 
was the rule before the statute was passed ; and the fall 
of the hoist while being properly used for the purpose 
for which it was set up was of itself evidence that it 



352 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

was unsafe and brought the ease within the maxim that 
the thing speaks for itself. 

That the objection that the statute was not available 
for not being pleaded in the complaint is founded on a 
mistaken notion. It did not need to be pleaded; it 
would not be scientific to plead it. The cause of action 
is not on a statute. All that the statute does is to make 
the employer liable for unsafe scaffolding, hoists, etc., 
even though they be negligently put up by fellow work- 
men of the plaintiff as part of their work, whereas be- 
fore the statute he was not ; in other words, it makes evi- 
dence competent to show his negligence which was not 
competent before. 

Judgment reversed and new trial granted. Hagg- 
blad v. Brooklyn Heights R. R. Co., 117 App. Div. 838; 
citing Steward v. Ferguson, 164 N. Y. 553. 

103. Where plaintiffs were in the employ of defend- 
ants as concrete workers, in work on a building in course 
of construction, and the concrete was to be spread in a 
wooden box so that when firm would become a part of 
the floor. The box or floor was intended for temporary 
use and was made by carpenters in the employ of defend- 
ants. Plaintiffs were required to stand on the box while 
working, and while thus engaged the bottom of the box 
gave way and plaintiffs fell and sustained injuries. 

Held, that section 18 of the Labor Law could cover 
the case, although plaintiffs had no cause of action at 
common law, and that the box or floor was a " mechani- 
cal contrivance " within said section. 

And that the fact that the bottom of the box gave way 
was evidence that it was unsafe and some evidence of 
negligence and called upon defendant to explain and in 
the absence of any explanation was sufficient to justify 
the award of judgment for the plaintiffs. 

That the use of the words " mechanical contrivances v 
was intended to give the section a broader meaning 
than it would have if these words were not used. 
Michael v. Standard Concrete Steel Co., 55 Misc. 255. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 353 



(Section 20.) 

104. Plaintiff while in the employ of a contractor 
for the plumbing work in a building being erected, was 
struck by a brick which fell from above, and was in- 
jured. There was no evidence where the brick fell from 
or who caused it to fall. One of defendants was em- 
ployed to do the carpenter work. The owner of the 
building and her husband who was alleged to be the 
superintendent but whose powers extended only to pass- 
ing upon the sufficiency of the work when done and not 
as to the right to interfere or direct the manner of its 
performance, were the other defendants. 

Held, that under these circumstances section 20 of the 
Labor Law was not applicable as to the owner and that 
the other defendants were not liable for the accident. 
Hashagen v. Schaefer, et al., 54 Misc. 236; citing 51 
Misc. 617; Koch v. Fox, 71 App. Div. 288. 

(Section 70.) 

105. Under section 70, Labor Law, as amended by 
Laws of 1903, Ch. 184, in an action to recover damages 
for injuries sustained by plaintiff alleged to have been 
caused solely through the negligence of the defendant, 
where the plaintiff being 15 years of age was employed 
by the defendant to work upon and operate a machine 
alleged to have been unsafe, defective and out of repair 
to defendant's knowledge, and not properly guarded 
as required by law, and that the defendant was negligent 
in employing the plaintiff in violation of the provisions 
of the Labor Law in permitting the plaintiff to work for 
it, when she had not procured and filed with it an em- 
ployment certificate as required by said act. 

Held, That the evidence as to whether or not the ma- 
chine upon which plaintiff was working was defective, 
or out of repair, whether or not the plaintiff had been 



354 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

properly instructed as to its operation and management 
and whether or not it was properly guarded, raised ques- 
tions of fact which were properly submitted to the jury. 

Also that it was competent for the jury to take into 
consideration as bearing upon the question of defend- 
ant's negligence, the fact that plaintiff was employed 
by it without having obtained and filed an employment 
certificate as required by the statute. 

And that it was permissible for the jury to have taken 
into consideration, as bearing upon the question of de- 
fendant's negligence, the fact that the plaintiff was 
employed by the defendant when she had not obtained 
and filed a certificate required by the statute. Kenyon 
v. Sanford Mfg. Co., 119 A. D., 570. 

(Section 77.) 

106. Section 77 of the Labor Law as amended by 
Chapter 184 of 1903, which provides that no minor 
under the age of eighteen years, and no female, shall be 
employed, permitted or suffered to work in any factory 
in this state before six o'clock in the morning or after 
nine o'clock in the evening of any day, or for more than 
ten hours in any one day, except to make a shorter work 
day on the last day of the week, or for more than sixty 
hours in any one week, or more hours in any one week 
than will make an average of ten hours per day for the 
whole number of days so worked. 

Held, as to any female, that said enactment is an un- 
warranted invasion of the constitutional right of indi- 
vidual liberty and property and in contravention of the 
fourteenth article of the constitution of the United 
States, and also of article one, section six, of the State 
Constitution. People v. Williams, 51 Misc., 383. Affd. 
116 App. Div. 379; Affd. 189 N. Y., 131. 

107. The defendant in the above case was arrested 
and convicted upon the charge of having violated the 
provisions of section 384L of the Penal Code, which 



THE " LABOR LAW." 355 

makes it a misdemeanor on the part of any person not 
complying with the provisions of article six of the Labor 
Law relating to Factories. The provision in question 
is contained in section 77 as amended in 1903, chapter 
184, section 2. 

The Court of Appeals, Gray, J., among other things 
says: That the legislature in preventing the employ- 
ment of an adult woman in a factory and prohibiting 
her to work therein before six o'clock in the morning 
or after nine o'clock in the evening, has overstepped the 
limits set by the Constitution of the State to the exer- 
cise of the power to interfere with the rights of citizens. 
The provisions of the State and Federal Constitutions 
protect every citizen in the right to pursue any lawful 
employment in a lawful manner. That under our laws 
men and women now stand alike in their constitutional 
rights and there is no warrant for making any discrim- 
ination between them with respect to the liberty of per- 
son or of contract. That said enactment is discrimina- 
tive against female citizens, in denying to them equal 
rights with men in the same pursuit, and arbitrarily 
deprives citizens of their right to contract with each 
other. That a female is no more a ward of the state 
than is a man. She is entitled to enjoy, unmolested, 
her liberty of person, and her freedom to work for whom 
she pleases, and where she pleases and as long as she 
pleases, within the general limits operative on all per- 
sons alike, and legislation which closes the doors of a 
factory to her before and after certain hours, is not 
valid legislation. Citing Lochner v. State of N. Y., 198 
U. S., 115. 

The court further says, that as an adult female is in 
no sense a ward of the state, she is not to be made the 
special object of the exercise of the paternal power of 
the state and that the restriction here imposed upon 
her privilege to labor, violates the constitutional guar- 
antees, and that in the gradual course of legislation 
upon the rights of a woman, in this state, she lias come 



356 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

to possess all of the responsibilities of a man and she 
is entitled to be placed upon an equality of rights with 
a man. Decided June 14, 1907. 189 N. Y., 131- 
137. 

Section 77 was then amended by Chapter 286 of 1907, 
which became a law May 4, 1907, to take effect Janu- 
ary 1, 1908. 

And amended again by Chapter 507 of 1907, which 
became a law June 15, 1907, to take effect October 1, 
1907. 

108. Defendants were the owners of a building 11 
stories high. Plaintiff was injured in the passenger ele- 
vator car maintained and operated by defendants' em- 
ployees. Plaintiff was employed by one of defendant's 
tenants who occupied the 10th floor, and in going to 
and from her work was necessary to use the elevator. 
The car dropped with a sudden jerk from the tenth 
to the fourth floor; in consequence she was violently 
thrown to the floor of the car and severely injured. 

Defendants claimed at the trial that plaintiff was 
bound to show something in the way of defect. Some- 
thing must be shown out of the usual movements of the 
elevator. The mere moving, simply, of an elevator is 
not sufficient to prove its breaking down as that may 
have occurred through carelessness on the part of the 
operator. 

To this statement the trial court assented and dis- 
missed the complaint. Plaintiff excepted. 

Held on appeal, That his ruling was error. 

That plaintiff was not required to prove the specific 
defect in the car or the particular act of misconduct in 
its operation. That it was enough if plaintiff proved 
facts and circumstances from which the jury might 
fairly infer that the car was either defective in its con- 
dition or negligently operated. 

That if it be true that the breaking down may have 
occurred through carelessness on the part of the opera- 
tor, plaintiff was entitled to go to the jury. That a pre- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 357 

sumption of negligence may arise from the nature of the 
act. 

Held also that it was competent to prove that a simi- 
lar accident occurred shortly before the one which hap- 
pened to the plaintiff, as tending to establish notice to 
the defendant of some defect which required of them 
the exercise of reasonable care, both Avith regard to in- 
spection as well as the repairs to be made. Glassman 
v. Surpless, 53 Misc. 589. 

109. A master is not bound to furnish the best known 
appliances for the work in which his servant is em- 
ployed, but only such as are reasonably fit and safe. He 
satisfies the requirements of the law if in the selection of 
machinery and appliances he uses that degree of care 
which a man of ordinary prudence would employ, hav- 
ing regard to his own safety in selecting them for his 
own individual use. Burns v. Old Sterling, I. & M. Co., 
188 N. Y. 175 ; 105 App. Div. 627 reversed. See cases 
cited at pages 183-184. See ante page 122. 

110. Plaintiff brought action to recover for injuries 
received while in defendant's employ in his book-binding 
establishment, by having his hand caught in a press, and 
claimed that the press or machine was defective at the 
time he was engaged upon it when the accident hap- 
pened, and that the master diregarded his duty in not 
furnishing him with a machine reasonably safe and in 
not making a reasonable inspection and keeping it in 
proper repair. 

The trial court refused to charge as requested by de- 
fendant's counsel, that the replacing of a nut on the 
screw, which was the cause of the accident, was a detail 
of the work, and that if one of the defendant's employees 
was negligent in replacing the nut such negligence was 
the work of a fellow servant for which the defendant 
was not responsible, and that before the jury could im- 
pose any liability on the defendant for failure to tighten 
the nut, they must find that the defendant had notice 
or by reasonable care could have obtained knowledge 



358 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

that the nut had become loose again after being tight- 
ened in the morning. 

Held, Hiseock, J., that such refusals to charge as re- 
quested constituted error, and that having the right to 
use the machine the defendant could only be required 
to exercise reasonable care and prudence in detecting 
a loosening of the nut and replacing the same and that 
such instructions should have been given as requested. 
Loughlin v. Brassil, 187 N. Y. 128; reversing 102 App. 
Div. 607 (mem.). 

" In this case questions as to the admission of incom- 
petent testimony and improper remarks of counsel in 
summing up, also held to be such as to justify the re- 
versal of the judgment." 

111. Where plaintiff's injuries were caused by a 
shaft elevated fourteen to fifteen feet above the floor of 
defendant's factory and could be reached only by the 
use of a ladder. 

Held, that defendant could not be charged with negli- 
gence under the Factory Act, chap. 409 of 1886, as 
amended by chap. 673 of 1892, section 8, for failure to 
properly guard it. The law imposes on the servant the 
duty of self protection and always assumes that this 
instinct, so deeply rooted in human nature, will guard 
him against all risks and dangers incident to the em- 
ployment or arising in the course of the business of 
which he has knowledge or the means of knowledge. If 
he voluntarily enters into or continues in the service 
without objection or complaint, having knowledge or 
the means of knowing the dangers involved, he is 
deemed to assume the risk and to waive any claim for 
damages against the master in case of personal injury 
to him. Where the danger is obvious and great, as in 
the case of a revolving shaft, it is not necessary to give 
warning of all the elements which serve to enhance the 
risk. 

And where it is urged that there was a keyway in the 



THE "LABOR LAW." 359 

end of the shaft which made it more likely to catch his 
clothing than a plain shaft. 

Held, that the danger of being caught by contact with 
the shaft, whether he knew of the keyway or not, was 
so great and obvious, that he must have appreciated 
and taken upon himself the risk of being caught and 
injured by coming in contact with the shaft. It was 
not necessary that he should appreciate every particular 
of the danger. Dillon v. National Coal Tar Co., 181 
N. Y. 215, reversing 88 App. Div. 614, distinguishing 
Johansen v. Eastmans Co., 44 App. Div. 270 ; 168 N. Y. 
648, is not in conflict, as in that case the plaintiff was 
an inexperienced man. 

112. Where negligence is charged against a defend- 
ant for failure to furnish a safe place for plaintiff to 
work in and suitable tools and appliances for doing the 
work of excavation, and the jurors are told, in effect, 
that the plaintiff's case depended upon the evidence es- 
tablishing that the accident was the result of the lack 
of explosives. 

Held not a case for the application of the rule that 
the master must furnish a reasonably safe place, be- 
cause where the men were to work changed from day to 
day, and that the master's liability in this case is de- 
termined by common law rules and is not predicated 
upon the statute. That if the defendant set the men at 
work under a competent foreman and with suitable ap- 
pliances, it had performed its duties towards them and 
the execution of the details of the work could properly 
be intrusted to the judgment of the foreman, and for his 
negligence or for his mistake in judgment, as to such, 
it could not be made liable for injurious results. That 
a jury's speculation upon the situation cannot be allowed 
to affect the question of the master's liability. 

And where the situation is in the nature of things a 
changing one, there is no continuing duty to provide a 
safe place for the workmen. That the removal of a stone 
was a detail of the work and the negligence of the fore- 



360 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

man in that respect was that of a fellow servant. What 
were details of the work the master had the right to 
entrust to a competent foreman, and that if there was 
negligence in this case, which was the cause of plain- 
tiff's injuries, it was that of his fellow-servant, the fore- 
man, and that was a risk which he assumed when enter- 
ing upon the employment. Russell v. Lehigh Valley Co., 
188 N. Y. 344, distinguishing Simone v. Kirk, 173 N. Y. 
7; citing Loughlin v. N. Y., 105 N. Y. 159; Perry v. 
Rogers, 157 N. Y. 251 ; Capasso v. Woolfolk, 163 N. Y. 
472. 

(Section 81.f 

113. Where plaintiff was feeding a mangle, has 
spread a linen piece upon a feed apron which carried 
it to the rollers and steam heated cylinder of the mangle 
through which it went and her hand got in between the 
first roller and the cylinder. She could not tell how it 
happened but she did not need in the work to put her 
hand against the cylinder or roller. 

Held that on these facts plaintiff was not entitled to 
recover as the law formerly was. 

That the Labor Law, section 81, requires machinery 
to be properly guarded but the statutory obligation of 
employer to employee is on the same footing and no 
more than common law obligation. Each is simply a 
legal obligation and the one may be waived the same as 
the other. It is a simple matter over which words have 
been multiplied. But the Employers' Liability Act, Ch. 
600, of 1902, no longer permits the courts to rule as a 
matter of law in an action brought under that act, as is 
the case of this action, that an employee assumes the 
risk caused by the employer's failure to discharge any 
duty of safety, or is guilty of contributory negligence by 
continuing in the work with knowledge of such failure 
(sec. 3.) 

Held further that the prohibition of section 834 of 



THE "LABOR LAW." 361 

the Code of Civil Procedure only applies to informa- 
tion of patient to physician which was necessary to en- 
able him to act in that capacity, and the exclusion of the 
testimony of the doctor of what the plaintiff told him 
of how the accident happened was reversible error, that 
she did not need to tell him that she carelessly got her 
hand in the machine to enable him to treat the injuries 
to it. Travis v. Haan, 119 App. Div. 138. 

114. Where plaintiff was planing barrel staves on a 
steam planing machine one of them drew his hand into 
the planing knives by a sudden jerk. The questions 
submitted to the jury were whether the knives should 
have been guarded and whether plaintiff assumed the 
risk caused by the absence of such a guard; and there 
Avas evidence that the guard was practicable and in use. 

Held that section 81 of the Labor Law requires that 
certain machinery, including planers, shall be properly 
guarded and section 3 of Ch. 600 of Laws of 1902, Em- 
ployers' Liability Act makes the question of the assump- 
tion of risk caused by the absence of such guard one of 
fact. Neuweiler v. Central Brewing Co., 119 App. Div. 
101. 

115. Where plaintiff brought action against defend- 
ant, a corporation, for injuries received while erecting 
an iron or steel frame for a roof upon a factory build- 
ing, and he was one of a gang of men employed by the 
defendant upon the contract work therefor. The fore- 
man was a competent man and the workmen were under 
his directions.. The men were engaged in raising one of 
the trusses to an upright position, in order to raise it 
to the roof, which was effected by a rope attached to the 
peak of the truss. A rope laying on the ground having 
been examined by some of the men and rejected by them 
as not strong enough, but were then told by the foreman 
to use that one and that it was strong enough. They 
did so but before the truss was raised in position the 
rope broke and the truss fell on the plaintiff and broke 
his leg. 



362 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Held, that under the rule, that the servant in the 
work upon which the master employs him, assumes as 
part of the ordinary risks attendant upon, or implied 
from the nature of the work, such as arises from the 
possible negligence of a competent fellow servant. That 
the doctrine of the responsibility of the master for the 
negligence or default of one who in the eye of the law 
is his alter ego, applies to the obligations to furnish to 
his employees a reasonably safe place to work in and 
safe appliances to work with. When the master is 
represented by one who may be regarded as his alter 
ego or a vice-principal in the work, if the specific act, 
which is the subject of a complaint is one which can be 
properly regarded as within the personal duty of the 
master and not as some act in the line of a mere ser- 
vant's duty, then the master is justly chargeable with 
the results; whether it be an act of negligent perform- 
ance or one of omission. 

But where there is no dispute as to the competency 
of the defendant's foreman, or as to a sufficiency of 
suitable rope having been furnished by the defendant, 
and the foreman in directing the men to use a particular 
rope on the spot, may have been negligence or he may 
have committed an error in judgment. In either case it 
would be contrary to precedent to hold the defendant 
responsible, or where the master supplied proper and 
suitable material or appliances. The contract relation 
between the master and his servant makes it the latter's 
duty as a detail of his work to correct the defect when 
it arises with the materials furnished. And if in the 
exercise of judgment by the master's representative he 
omits to do something which has been foreseen and pro- 
vided against by the master, the latter should not be re- 
garded as chargeable with a responsibility for the re- 
sult. And in this case it was within the line of a ser- 
vant's duty to get a suitable rope for the purpose of the 
work from the supply furnished, and that it was an 
error of judgment on the part of the foreman to direct 



THE Si LABOR LAW." 363 

the use of the one which proved defective. As to the de- 
tails, in the execution of the work, the foreman and 
workmen are fellow servants. That upon the evidence 
given the defendant was not responsible to the plaintiff. 
It was a case where an error of judgment was committed 
by the defendant's foreman and the risk of injury from 
his fault was one of those assumed by the workmen as 
incidental to the execution of the work, and its details. 
Judgment reversed. Vogel v. American Bridge Co., 180 
N. Y. 373 ; reversing 88 App. Div. 68. 

116. In an action by plaintiff for injuries received 
while in defendant's employ by falling from a coal 
trestle, alleged that the negligence of the master con- 
sisted in the failure of the latter to furnish him a reason- 
ably safe place to work in. The evidence tended to show 
that before going on the car he had been using a pick 
and shovel, and must have seen, or at least could have 
seen, the defect which was the alleged cause of the 
injury, by the exercise of ordinary care. 

Held, in this case that the plaintiff's conduct, whether 
careless or otherwise, presented a question of fact for 
the jury, and could not be properly nonsuited on the 
ground that he was guilty of contributory negligence. 
Wazenski v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 180 N. Y. 466. 

117. When risk not obvious or assumed. 
Plaintiff, who was a boy, working around a mill but 

had never before done the work which he attempted to 
do when hurt, and which work was dangerous, required 
close attention, .quickness and skill, and he had received 
no instructions or warning of its dangers, some of which 
were hidden and unknown to him, and his first attempt 
to do the work resulted in his hand being suddenly 
drawn between a fast revolving roller and crushed. 

Held, that while he must have known that if his hand 
was caught between the roller it would be injured, the 
jury is warranted in finding that the dangerous tend- 
ency to draw the material towards the roller was un- 
known to plaintiff and with reasonable care for the 



364 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

safety of the boy required the defendant to warn him of 
its danger and that the facts were one for the jury and 
they having found in his favor the verdict should not 
he disturbed. Makin v. Pettebone Cataract Paper Co., 
Ill App. Div. 726, distinguishing 47 App. Div. 136, and 
175 N. Y. 401. Affirmed without opinion, 188 N. Y. 
559. 

118. Where the defendant had a contract with plain- 
tiff's employer by which he was to use barrels with casts 
in his business, and a part of its establishment was 
fitted up with machinery for a cooperage and by the 
contract defendant was to use such cooperage to repair 
the barrels it used at specified prices, and the defendant 
agreed in the contract to furnish and maintain all the 
machinery and keep it in repair, and the plaintiff was 
caught in an unguarded shaft of the engine in the coop- 
erage while at work there and hurt. 

The defendant claimed it was not liable to the plain- 
tiff therefor; that the liability, if any, was with his 
employer. 

Held, That section 81 of the Labor Law imposes on 
the owner or person in charge of a factory the duty to 
properly guard several specified parts of machinery 
including shafting by name, and machinery of every 
description. That this means only machinery which 
needs to be and can be guarded for the safety of the 
employees. That the submission by the trial judge to 
the jury of the question whether the shafting on which 
the plaintiff was caught came within this category and 
that as matter of law the said statute requirement ap- 
plies to the defendant in respect to the plaintiff. 

Held correct. That it had set up and furnished the 
machinery and agreed to maintain it to enable the plain- 
tiff's employers to repair its barrels, and in this respect 
it was in charge of the factory within the meaning of 
the statute and under the duty which the statute im- 
poses. That no contract relation between it and the 
plaintiff was necessary; that the duty grew out of the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 365 

statute. That it was not the case of a factory and its 
machinery leased to a tenant to be used and maintained 
by him. The defendant retained control and charge of 
the machinery merely allowing its use by the plaintiff's 
employer for its purposes. 

Held farther, that whoever is under a statute duty or 
common law duty is liable the same in each case for 
injury done to another by its neglect. The liability 
grows out of the duty ; it creates the liability. 

Held further, that the refusal of a trial judge to sub- 
mit the question of the assumption of the risk of the 
unguarded shaft by the plaintiff to the jury was right. 
That the assumption of risk is a matter of contract and 
no contract relation existed between the plaintiff and 
the defendant. 

That a servant assumes such a risk as a part of his 
contract of service; he agrees to the risk in order to be 
employed and paid. The defendant could not discharge 
the plaintiff or impose any risk on him as a condition of 
his remaining at work. 

That the charge if plaintiff was guilty of contributory 
negligence he could not recover was all that defendant 
was entitled to. 

That assumption of risk and contributory negligence 
are distinct things. Poole v. American Linseed Oil 
Co., 119 App. Div. 136. 

119. Operation of machine. Inspection by foreman. 

In an action by plaintiff for injuries received while 
engaged in operating a machine for defendant in the 
manufacture of knit goods where no claim was made 
that the machine was of proper construction or in good 
order and plaintiff had been instructed by defendant's 
foreman how to operate the machine, the questions were 
wh ether such instructions were proper and sufficient and 
whether the accident could have occurred had plaintiff 
followed them. 

Held, That the instructions given were proper and 
sufficient and that had plaintiff complied with them the 



366 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

injury could not have occurred, but must have resulted 
through some negligence on plaintiff's part to obey the 
instructions. Thayer v. Utica Knitting Co., 183 N. Y. 
18, reversing 98 App. Div. 633. 

120. In an action brought by plaintiff for injuries 
received while in the employ of defendant which owned 
and operated a plant for the manufacture of paper, 
while plaintiff was assisting in throwing a belt upon a 
pulley attached to a shaft and his clothing was caught 
in a set screw attached to the hub or flange of the 
sprocket wheel, and he was whirled around by the 
rapidly revolving shaft and seriously injured. 

The plaintiff alleged that defendant as master failed 
to provide for plaintiff as servant a safe and proper place 
in which to work, and that plaintiff was directed by one 
of his superiors in the presence of the master to assist 
in throwing the belt upon the rapidly revolving pulley, 
in a place where dangerous machinery was left un- 
guarded, and it was not sufficiently lighted to enable 
plaintiff to discern the hazards of the work. 

The defendants claimed that the place was suffi- 
ciently lighted and that there were ample provisions for 
additional light if they were needed, and that the task 
of putting on the belt was a matter of detail as to which 
the negligence of the servant, whatever his grade, would 
not be chargeable to the master. 

Held, That the state of evidence was such that the 
jury, under proper instructions from the court, that 
the head millwright was merely a co-employee of the 
plaintiff in finally directing that the belt could be run 
on without stopping the machinery, but if this was not 
so, the legal result would be the same, because the put- 
ting on of the belt was a detail of the work, as to which 
the negligence of the millwright and the electrician and 
engineer to serve in the capacity of general utility man 
about the mill, was simply that of co-employee and that 
the principle that the liability of a master for an injury 
occasioned by the negligence of another employee does 



THE " LABOR LAW." 3^7 

not depend upon the grade or rank of the latter, but 
upon the character of the act, and assuming that the 
master mechanic who was over theni had given orders 
that the machinery should be shut down when the belts 
were ready to be run on, the defendant would not be 
liable if its subordinates disregarded its orders, and the 
injury was occasioned as a result thereof. That this 
was a matter of detail which defendant had the right 
to leave to its subordinates upon the assumption that 
its orders in that respect would be properly carried out, 
and the failure to do so by any servant, no matter what 
his grade, was the negligence of a fellow servant. 

Held, also, That if the master furnished proper means 
of lighting the place, proper supplies and competent 
men to do it, that then the master has performed its 
whole duty so far as lighting is concerned, and the de- 
fendant would not be liable, and the question whether 
it was contemplated that any more light should be 
furnished for the purpose of doing the work than was, 
and whether in view of all the circumstances it may not 
have been negligence on the part of defendant not to 
have made the place more safe than it was, and in 
determining that question the jury may take into con- 
sideration not only the matter of lights but all other 
circumstances. That when the master has done his 
whole duty in providing proper means of lighting the 
place in which his employees are to work, he is not 
liable for the failure of the co-employee as between them- 
selves to avail themselves of the means of lighting at 
hand. Foster v. International Paper Co., 183 N. Y. 45, 
reversing 94 App. Div. 012. 

(Section 110.) 

THE LOCHNER CASE.- 

121. This case is considered by judges, lawyers, man- 
ufacturers and others as one of such vital and far reach- 
ing importance in determining the Constitutional Limi- 



368 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tations of the State's power to legislate and of the Police 
Power when it involves the question "which of two 
powers or rights shall prevail — the power of the state 
to legislate or the right of the individual to liberty of 
person and freedom of contract" and all interested 
should be afforded the privilege of becoming conversant 
with it and to that end the prevailing opinion of Mr. 
Justice Peckham of the U. S. Supreme Court, as re- 
ported in 198 U. S. 45, is printed in full and is as fol- 
lows, viz : 

In the Supreme Court of the United States Joseph 
Lochner, Plaintiff in Error, vs. the People of the State 
of New York. In error to the County Court of Oneida 
County, State of New York. 

This is a writ of error to the County Court of Oneida 
County, in the State of New York (to which court the 
record had been remitted), to review the judgment of 
the Court of Appeals of that State, affirming the judg- 
ment of the Supreme Court, which itself affirmed the 
judgment of the County Court, convicting the defendant 
of a misdemeanor on an indictment under a statute of 
that State, known, by its short title, as the labor law. 
The section of the statute under which the indictment 
was found is section 110. 

The indictment averred that the defendant " wrong- 
fully and unlawfully required and permitted an em- 
ployee working for him in his biscuit, bread and cake 
bakery and confectionery establishment, at the city of 
Utica, in this county, to work more than sixty hours in 
one week," after having been theretofore convicted of a 
violation of the same act; and therefore, as averred, he 
committed the crime of misdemeanor, second offense. 
The plaintiff in error demurred to the indictment on 
Several grounds, one of which was that the facts stated 
did not constitute a crime. The demurrer w T as over- 
ruled, and the plaintiff in error having refused to plead 
further, a plea of not guilty was entered by order of the 
court and the trial commenced, and he was convicted of 



THE " LABOR LAW." 369 

misdemeanor, second offense, as indicted, and sentenced 
to pay a fine of f 50 and to stand committed until paid, 
not to exceed fifty days in the Oneida County jail. A 
certificate of reasonable doubt was granted by the 
county judge of Oneida County, whereon an appeal was 
taken to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, 
Fourth department, where the judgment of conviction 
was affirmed. (73 Applt, Div. 120.) A further ap- 
peal was then taken to the Court of Appeals, where the 
judgment of conviction was again affirmed. (177 N. Y. 
145.) 

Mr. Justice Peckham, after making the foregoing 
statement of the facts, delivered the opinion of the 
Court : 

The indictment, it will be seen, charges that the plain- 
tiff in error violated the one hundredth and tenth sec- 
tion of Article 8, Chapter 415, of the Laws of 1897, 
known as the Labor Law of the State of New York, in 
that he wrongfully and unlawfully required and per- 
mitted an employee working for him to work more than 
sixty hours in one week. There is nothing in any of 
the opinions delivered in this case, either in the Su- 
preme Court or the Court of Appeals of the State, which 
construes the section, in using the word " required,'' as 
referring to any physical force being used to obtain tin* 
labor of an employee. It is assumed that the word 
means nothing more than the requirement arising from 
voluntary contract for such labor in excess of the num- 
ber of hours specified in the statute. There is no pre- 
tence in any of the opinions that the statute was in- 
tended to meet a case of involuntary labor in any form. 
All the opinions assume that there is no real distinction, 
so far as this question is concerned, between the words 
" required " and " permitted." The mandate of the 
statute that " no employee shall be required or permitted 
to work," is the substantial equivalent of an enactment 
that " no employee shall contract or agree to work," 
more than ten hours per day, and as there is no provis- 



370 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ion for special emergencies the statute is mandatory in 
all cases. It is not an act merely fixing the number 
of hours which shall constitute a legal day's work, but 
an absolute prohibition upon the employer, permitting, 
under any circumstances, more than ten hours work to 
be done in his establishment. The employee may desire 
to earn the extra money, which would arise from his 
working more than the prescribed time, but this statute 
forbids the employer from permitting the employee to 
earn it. 

The statute necessarily interferes with the right of 
contract between the employer and the employees, con- 
cerning the number of hours in which the latter may 
labor in the bakery of the employer. The general right 
to make a contract in relation to his business is part of 
the liberty of the individual protected by the Fourteenth 
Amendment of the Federal Constitution. (Allegeyer v. 
Louisiana, 165 U. S. 578.) Under that provision no 
state con deprive any person of life, liberty or property 
without due process of law. The right to purchase or to 
sell labor is part of the liberty protected by this amend- 
ment, unless there are circumstances which exclude the 
right. There are, however, certain powers, existing in 
the sovereignty of each state in the Union, somewhat 
vaguely termed police powers, the exact description and 
limitation of which have not been attempted by the 
courts. Those powers, broadly stated and without, at 
present, any attempt at a more specific limitation, re- 
late to the safety, health, morals, and general welfare 
of the public. Both property and liberty are held on 
such reasonable conditions as may be imposed by the 
governing power of the state in the exercise of those 
powers, and with such conditions the Fourteenth 
Amendment was not designed to interfere. (Mugler v. 
Kansas, 123 U. S. 623; In re Kemmler, 136 Id. 436; 
Crowley v. Christensen, 137 Id. 86 ; In re Converse, 137 
Id. 624.) 



THE ' LABOR LAW." 371 

Police Powers Begin— and End. 

The state, however, has power to prevent the individ- 
ual from making certain kinds of contracts, and in re- 
gard to them the Federal Constitution offers no pro- 
tection. If the contract be one which the state, in the 
legitimate exercise of its police powers, has the right to 
prohibit, it is not prevented from prohibiting it by the 
Fourteenth Amendment. Contracts in violation of a 
statute, either of the federal or state government, or a 
contract to let one's property for immoral purposes, or 
to do any other unlawful act, could obtain no protection 
from the Federal Constitution, as coming under the 
liberty of person or of free contract. Therefore, when 
the state, by its legislature, in the assumed exercise of 
its police powers, has passed an act which seriously 
limits the right to labor or the right of contract in re- 
gard to their means of livelihood between persons who 
are sui juris (both emplo} 7 er and employee), it becomes 
of great importance to determine which >shall prevail — 
the right of the individual to labor for such time as he 
may choose, or the right of the state to prevent the in- 
dividual from laboring or from entering into any con- 
tract to labor, beyond a certain time prescribed by the 
.state. 

This court has recognized the existence and upheld 
the exercise of the police powers of the states in many 
cases which might fairly be considered as border ones, 
and it has, in the course of its determination of ques- 
tions regarding the asserted invalidity of such statutes, 
on the ground of their violation of the rights secured by 
the Federal Constitution, been guided by rules of a very 
liberal nature, the application of which has resulted, in 
numerous instances, in upholding the validity of state 
statutes thus assailed. Among the later cases where the 
State law has been upheld by this court is that of 
Holden v. Hardy (169 U. S. 366). A provision in the 
act of the legislature of Utah was there under consider- 
ation, the act limiting the employment of workmen in all 



372 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

underground mines or workings, to eight hours per day, 
" except in cases of emergency, where life or property is 
in imminent danger/' It also limited the hours of labor 
in smelting and other institutions for the reduction or 
refining of ores or metals to eight hours per day, except 
in like cases of emergency. The act was held to be a 
valid exercise of the police powers of the state. A re- 
view of many of the cases on the subject, decided by this 
and other courts, is given in the opinion. It was held 
that the kind of employment, mining, smelting, etc., and 
the character of the employees in such kinds of labor, 
were such as to make it reasonable and proper for the 
state to interfere to prevent the employees from being 
constrained by the rules laid down by the proprietors 
in regard to labor. The following citation from the 
observations of the Supreme Court of Utah in that 
case was made by the judge writing the opinion of this 
court, and approved : 

" The law in question is confined to the protection of that class of people 
engaged in labor in underground mines, and in smelters and other works 
wherein ores are reduced and refined. This law applies only to the classes 
subjected by their employment to the peculiar conditions and effects at- 
tending underground mining and work in smelters, and other works for 
the reduction and refining of ores. Therefore it is not necessary to discuss 
or decide whether the legislature can fix the hours of labor in other em- 
ployments." 

In the Utah and Kansas Cases. 

It will be observed that, even with regard to that class 
of labor, the Utah statute provided for cases of emer- 
gency wherein the provisions of the statute would not 
apply. The statute now before this court has no emer- 
gency clause in it, and, if the statute is valid, there are 
no circumstances and no emergencies under which the 
slightest violation of the provisions of the act would be 
innocent. There is nothing in Holden v. Hardy which 
covers the case now before us. Nor does Atkins v. 
Kansas (191 U. S. 207), touch the case at bar. The 



THE -LABOR LAW." 373 

Atkins case was decided upon the right of the state to 
control its municipal corporations and to prescribe the 
conditions upon which it will permit work of a public 
character to be done by a municipality. Knoxville Co. 
v. Harbison (183 U. S. 13) is equally far from an 
authority for this legislation. The employees in that 
case were held to be at a disadvantage with the employer 
in matters of wages, they being miners and coal workers 
and the act simply provided for the cashing of coal 
orders when presented by the miner to the employer. 

The latest case decided by this court, involving the 
police power, is that of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, de- 
cided at tli is term and reported in 197 U. S. 11. It 
related to compulsory vaccination, and the law was 
held valid as a proper exercise of the police powers with 
reference to the public health. It was stated in the 
opinion that it was a case " of an adult who, for aught 
that appears, was himself in perfect health and a fit 
subject for vaccination, and yet, while remaining in the 
community, refused to obey the statute and the regula- 
tion, adopted in execution of its provisions, for the pro- 
tection of the public health and the public safety, con- 
fessedly endangered by the presence of a dangerous dis- 
ease." That case is also far from covering the one now 
before the court. 

Petit v. Minnesota (177 U. S. 161) was upheld as a 
proper exercise of the police power relating to the ob- 
servance of Sunday, and the case held that the legis- 
lature had the right to declare that, as matter of law, 
keeping barber shops open on Sunday was not a work 
of necessity or charity. 

No Unbounded Power for the States. 

It must, of course, be conceded that there is a limit to 
the valid exercise of the police power by the state. 
There is no dispute concerning this general proposition. 
Otherwise the Fourteenth Amendment would have no 



374 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

efficacy and the legislature of the states would have 
unbounded power, and it would be enough to say that 
any piece of legislation was enacted to conserve the 
morals, the health or the safety of the people; such 
legislation would be valid, no matter how absolutely 
without foundation the claim might be. The claim of 
the police power would be a mere pretext — become an- 
other and delusive name for the supreme sovereignty of 
the state to be exercised free from constitutional re- 
straint. This is not contended for. In every case that 
comes before this court, therefore, where legislation of 
this character is concerned and where the protection of 
the Federal Constitution is sought, the question neces- 
sarily arises: Is this a fair, reasonable and appropriate 
exercise of the police power of the state, or is it an un- 
reasonable, unnecessary and arbitrary interference with 
the right of the individual to his personal liberty or to 
enter into those contracts in relation to labor which may 
seem to him appropriate or necessary for the support of 
himself and his family? Of course the liberty of con- 
tract relating to labor includes both parties to it. The 
one has as much right to purchase as the other to sell 
labor. 

This is not a question of substituting the judgment 
of the court for that of the legislature. If the act be 
within the power of the state it is valid, although the 
judgment of the court might be totally opposed to the 
enactment of such a law. But the question would still 
remain: Is it within the police power of the state? and 
that question must be answered by the court. 

Liberty and Free Contract Secure. 

The question whether this act is valid as a labor law, 
pure and simple, may be dismissed in a few words. 
There is no reasonable ground for interfering with the 
liberty of person or the right of free contract, by de- 
termining the hours of labor, in the occupation of a 



THE " LABOR LAW." 375 

baker. There is no contention that bakers as a class are 
not equal in intelligence and capacity to men in other 
trades or manual occupations, or that they are not able 
to assert their rights and care for themselves without 
the protecting arm of the state, interfering with their 
independence of judgment and of action. The}^ were in 
no sense wards of the state. Viewed in the light of a 
purely labor law, with no reference whatever to the 
question of health, we think that a law like the one be- 
fore us involves neither the safety, the morals nor the 
welfare of the public, and that the interest of the public 
is not in the slightest degree affected by such an act. 
The law must be upheld, if at all, as a law pertaining to 
the health of the individual engaged in the occupation 
of a baker. It does not affect any other portion of the 
public than those who are engaged in that occupation. 
Clean and wholesome bread does not depend upon 
whether the baker works but ten hours per day or only 
sixty hours a week. The limitation of the hours of 
labor does not come within the police power on that 
ground. 

It is a question of which of two powers or rights shall 
prevail — the power of the state to legislate or the right 
of the individual to liberty of person and freedom of 
contract. The mere assertion that the subject relates 
though but in a remote degree to the public health does 
not necessarily render the enactment valid. The act 
must have a more direct relation, as a means to an end, 
and the end itself must be appropriate and legitimate, 
before an act can be held to be valid which interferes 
with the general right of an individual to be free in his 
person and in his power to contract in relation to his 
own labor. 

Limits of the Police Power. 

This case has caused much diversity of opinion in the 
state courts. In the Supreme Court two of the five 



376 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

judges composing the court dissented from the judg- 
ment affirming the validity of the act. In the Court of 
Appeals three of the seven judges also dissented from 
the judgment upholding the statute. Although found in 
what is called a labor law of the state, the Court of Ap- 
peals has upheld the act as one relating to the public 
health — in other words, as a health law. One of the 
judges of the Court of Appeals, in upholding the law, 
stated that, in his opinion, the regulation in question 
could not be sustained unless they were able to say, from 
common knowledge, that working in a bakery and candy 
factory was an unhealthy employment. The judge held 
that, while the evidence was not uniform, it still led 
him to the conclusion that the occupation of a baker or 
confectioner was unhealthy and tended to result in dis- 
eases of the respiratory organs. Three of the judges 
dissented from that view, and they thought the occupa- 
tion of a baker was not to such an extent unhealthy as 
to warrant the interference of the legislature with the 
liberty of the individual. 

We think the limit of the police power has been 
reached and passed in this case. There is, in our judg- 
ment, no reasonable foundation for holding this to be 
necessary or appropriate as a health law to safeguard 
the public health or the health of the individuals who 
are following the trade of a baker. If this statute be 
valid, and if, therefore, a proper case is made out in 
which to deny the right of an individual, sui juris, as 
employer or employee, to make contracts for the labor 
of the latter under the protection of the provisions of 
the Federal Constitution, there would seem to be no 
length to which legislation of this nature might not go. 
The case differs widely, as we have already stated, from 
the expressions of this court in regard to laws of this 
nature, as stated in Holden v. Hardy and Jacobson v. 
Massachusetts, supra. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 377 

All Labor More or Less Wearing. 

We think that there can be no fair doubt that the 
trade of a baker, in and of itself, is not an unhealthy 
one to that degree which would authorize the legislature 
to interfere with the right to labor, and with the right 
of free contract on the part of the individual, either as 
employer or employee. In looking through statistics 
regarding all trades and occupations, it may be true that 
the trade of a baker does not appear to be as healthy as 
some other trades, and is also vastly more healthy than 
still others. To the common understanding the trade 
of a baker has never been regarded as an unhealthy one. 
Very likely physicians would not recommend the exer- 
cise of that or of any other trade as a remedy for ill 
health. Some occupations are more healthy than others, 
but we think there are none which might not come under 
the power of the legislature to supervise and control the 
hours of working therein, if the mere fact that the oc- 
cupation is not absolutely and perfectly healthy is to 
confer that right upon the legislative department of the 
government. It might be safely affirmed that almost all 
occupations more or less affect the health. There must 
be more than the mere fact of the possible existence of 
some small amount of unhealthiness to warrant legis- 
lative interference with liberty. It is unfortunately 
true that labor, even in any department, may possibly 
carry with it the seeds of unhealthiness. But are we 
all, on that account, at the mercy of legislative major- 
ities? A printer, a tinsmith, a locksmith, a carpenter, 
a cabinetmaker, a dry goods clerk, a bank's, a lawyer's 
or a physician's clerk, or a clerk in almost any kind of 
business, would all come under the power of the legisla- 
ture, on tli is assumption. No trade, no occupation, no 
mode of earning one's living, could escape this all-per- 
vading power, and the acts of the legislature in limiting 
the hours of labor in all employments would be valid, 
although such limitation might seriously cripple the 



378 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ability of the laborer to support himself and his family. 
In our large cities there are many buildings into which 
the sun penetrates for but a short time in each day, and 
these buildings are occupied by people carrying on the 
business of bankers, brokers, lawyers, real estate, and 
many other kinds of business, aided by many clerks, 
messengers, and other employees. Upon the assumption 
of the validity of this act under review, it is not possible 
to say that an act, prohibiting lawyers' or bank clerks, 
or others, from contracting to labor for their employers 
more than eight hours a day, would be invalid. It might 
be said that it is unhealthy to work more than that num- 
ber of hours, in an apartment lighted by artificial light 
during the working hours of the day; that the occupa- 
tion of the bank clerk, the lawyer's clerk, the real estate 
clerk, or the broker's clerk in such offices is therefore 
unhealthy, and the legislature in its paternal wisdom 
must, therefore, have the right to legislate on the sub- 
ject of and to limit the hours for such labor, and if it 
exercises that power and its validity be questioned, it is 
sufficient to say, it has reference to the public health; 
it has reference to the health of the employees con- 
demned to labor day after day in buildings where the 
sun never shines; it is a health law, and therefore it is 
valid, and cannot be questioned by the courts. 

Comfort and Conduct Not Yet Regulated. 

It is also urged, pursuing the same line of argument, 
that it is to the interest of the state that its population 
should be strong and robust, and, therefore, any legisla- 
tion which may be said to tend to make people healthy 
must be valid as health laws, enacted under the police 
power. If this be a valid argument and a justification 
for this kind of legislation, it follows that the pro- 
tection of the Federal Constitution from undue in- 
terference with liberty of person and freedom of con- 
tract is visionary wherever the law is sought to be justi- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 379 

fied as a valid exercise of the police power. Scarcely 
any law but might find shelter under such as- 
sumptions, and conduct, properly so called, as well as 
contract, would come under the restrictive sway of the 
legislature. Not only the hours of employees, but the 
hours of employers, could be regulated ; and doctors, 
lawyers, scientists, all professional men, as well as 
athletes and artisans, could be forbidden to fatigue their 
brains and bodies by prolonged hours of exercise, lest 
the fighting strength of the state be impaired. We men- 
tion these extreme cases because the contention is ex- 
treme. We do not believe in the soundness of the views 
which uphold this law. On the contrary, we think that 
such a law as this, although passed in the assumed ex- 
ercise of the police power, and as relating to the public 
health, or the health of the employees named, is not 
within that power, and is invalid. The act is not, with- 
in any fair meaning of the term, a health law, but is 
an illegal interference with the rights of individuals, 
both employers and employees, to make contracts re- 
garding labor upon such terms as they may think best, 
or which they may agree upon with the other parties to 
such contracts. Statutes of the nature of that under 
review, limiting the hours in which grown and intel- 
ligent men may labor to earn their living, are mere 
meddlesome interferences with the rights of the individ- 
ual, and they are not saved from condemnation by the 
claim that they are passed in the exercise of the police 
power and upon the subject of the health of the individ- 
ual whose rights are interfered with, unless there be 
some fair ground, reasonable in and of itself, to say 
that there is material danger to the public health or to 
the health of the employees, if the hours of labor are not 
curtailed. If this be not clearly the case the individuals, 
whose rights are thus made the subject of legislative 
interference, are under the protection of the Federal 
Constitution regarding their liberty of contract as well 
as of person; and the legislature of the state has no 



380 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

power to limit their right as proposed in this statute. 
All that it could properly do has been done by it with 
regard to the conduct of bakeries, as provided for in the 
other sections of the act, above set forth. These several 
sections provide for the inspection of the premises where 
the bakery is carried on, with regard to furnishing 
proper wash rooms and water closets, apart from the 
bake room, also with regard to providing proper 
drainage, plumbing and painting; the sections, in addi- 
tion, provide for the height of the ceiling, the cementing 
or tiling of floors, where necessary in the opinion of the 
factory inspector, and for other things of that nature; 
alterations are also provided for and are to be made 
where necessary in the opinion of the inspector, in order 
to comply with the provisions of the statute. These 
various sections may be wise and valid regulations, and 
they certainly go to the full extent of providing for the 
cleanliness and the healthiness, so far as possible, of 
the quarters in which bakeries are to be conducted. 
Adding to all these requirements, a prohibition to enter 
into any contract of labor in a bakery for more than a 
certain number of hours a week, is, in our judgment, so 
wholly beside the matter of a proper, reasonable and 
fair provision, as to run counter to that liberty of per- 
son and of free contract provided for in the Federal 
Constitution. 

Bakers and Horseshoers Considered. 

It was further urged on the argument that restricting 
the hours of labor in the case of bakers was valid be- 
cause it tended to cleanliness on the part of the workers, 
as a man was more apt to be cleanly when not over- 
worked, and if cleanly then his " output " was also 
more likely to be so. What has already been said ap- 
plies with equal force to this contention. We do not 
admit the reasoning to be sufficient to justify the 
claimed right of interference. The state in that case 



THE " LABOR LAW." 3S1 

would assume the position of a supervisor, or pater 
familias, over any act of the individual, and its right 
of governmental interference with his hours of labor, 
his hours of exercise, the character thereof, and the 
extent to which it shall be carried would be recognized 
and upheld. In our judgment it is not possible in fact 
to discover the connection between the number of hours 
a baker may work in the bakery and the healthful qual- 
ity of the bread made by the workman. The connection, 
if any exist, is too shadowy and thin to build any argu- 
ment for the interference of the legislature. If the man 
works ten hours a day it is all right, but if ten and a 
half or eleven his health is in danger and his bread may 
be unhealthy, and, therefore, he shall not be permitted 
to do it. This, we think, is unreasonable and entirely 
arbitrary. When assertions such as we have adverted to 
become necessary in order to give, if possible, a plau- 
sible foundation for the contention that the law is a 
" health law," it gives rise to at least a suspicion that 
there was some other motive dominating the legislature 
than the purpose to subserve the public health or wel- 
fare. 

This interference on the part of the legislatures of the 
several states with the ordinary trades and occupations 
of the people seems to be on the increase. In the Su- 
preme Court of New York, in the case of People v. 
Beattie, Appellate Division, First Department, decided 
in 1904 (89 N. Y. Supp. 193), a statute regulating the 
trade of horseshoeing, and requiring the person practic- 
ing such trade to be examined and to obtain a certificate 
from a board of examiners and file the same with the 
clerk of the county wherein the person proposes to prac- 
tice such trade, was held invalid, as an arbitrary inter- 
ference with personal liberty and private property with- 
out due process of law. The attempt was made, unsuc- 
cessfully, to justify it as a health law. 



382 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

Restraint Only for the Common Welfare. 

The same kind of a statute was held invalid (In re 
Aubry) by the Supreme Court of Washington, in De- 
cember, 1904. (78 Pac. Rep. 900.) The court held that 
the act deprived citizens of their liberty and property 
without due process of law and denied to them the 
equal protection of the laws. It also held that the trade 
of a horseshoer is not a subject of regulation under the 
police power of the state, as a business concerning and 
directly affecting the health, welfare or comfort of its 
inhabitants; and that, therefore, a law which provided 
for the examination and registration of horseshoers in 
certain cities was unconstitutional, as an illegitimate 
exercise of the police power. 

The Supreme Court of Illinois in Bessette v. People 
193 111. 334), also held that a law of the same nature, 
providing for the regulation and licensing of horse- 
shoers, was unconstitutional as an illegal interference 
with the liberty of the individual in adopting and pursu- 
ing such calling as he may choose, subject only to the 
restraint necessary to secure the common welfare. See 
also Godcharles v. Wigeman (113 Penn. St. 431, 437) ; 
Low v. Rees Printing Co. (41 Neb. 127, 145). In these 
cases the courts upheld the right of free contract and 
the right to purchase and sell labor upon such terms as 
the parties may agree to. 

Real Motives Behind Such Laws. 

It is impossible for us to shut our eyes to the fact 
that many of the laws of this character, while passed 
under what is claimed to be the police power for the 
purpose of protecting the public health or welfare, are, 
in reality, passed for other motives. We are justified 
in saying so when, from the character of the law and the 
subject upon which it legislates, it is apparent that the 
public health or welfare bears but the most remote re- 
lation to the law. The purpose of a statute must be de- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 383 

termined from the natural and legal effect of the lan- 
guage employed; and whether it is or is not repugnant 
to the Constitution of the United States must be deter- 
mined from the natural effect of such statutes when put 
into operation, and not from their proclaimed purpose. 
(Minnesota v. Barber, 13G U. S. 313; Brimmer v. Reb- 
man, 138 Id. 78). The court looks beyond the mere 
letter of the law in such cases. (Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 
118 U. S. 356.) 

It is manifest to us that the limitation of the hours 
of labor as provided for in this section of the statute 
under which the indictment was found, and the plaintiff 
in error convicted, has no such direct relation to and 
no such substantial effect upon the employee, as to jus- 
tify us in regarding the section as really a health law. It 
seems to us that the real object and purpose were simply 
to regulate the hours of labor between the master and 
his employes (all being men, sui juris), in a private 
business, not dangerous in any degree to morals, or in 
any real and substantial degree, to the health of the 
employes. Under such circumstances the freedom of 
master and employee to contract with each other in re- 
lation to their employment, and in defining the same, 
cannot be prohibited or interfered with, without vio- 
lating the Federal Constitution. 

The judgment of the Court of Appeals of New York 
as well as that of the Supreme Court and of the County 
Court of Oneida County must be reversed and the case 
remanded to the County Court for further proceedings 
not inconsistent with this opinion. 

Reversed. 

Mr. Justice Harlan (with whom Mr. Justice White 
and Mr. Justice Day concurred) dissented: 

(Section 125.) 

122. Dangerous explosives. Duty of master as to 
negligence of co-servant. Risk assumed. 



384 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

In an action by admr. of servant against the master 
for negligence causing death of the servant who at the 
time of the accident was employed hoisting iron to the 
top of one of the furnaces which was about eighty-five 
feet in height. Deceased was called from his work by 
his foreman to assist in cutting a stick of dynamite ex- 
plosive. He hesitated to comply with the direction, ex- 
pressing fear of the danger of the work involved, but 
was assured by the foreman and the general manager 
of defendant that there was no danger, but while en- 
gaged in the work an explosion occurred and he was 
killed. 

Held, that while it is the duty of the master to warn 
the servant of any latent or extraneous danger in the 
prosecution of the work and to give him proper instruc- 
tions, if instructions are necessary to guard against 
such dangers, this rule does not apply to a obvious risk 
of the work. 

That the danger inherent in the use of high explosives, 
however carefully handled, is a matter of common 
knowledge, and that the deceased was aware of this is 
shown by his expressions concerning the dangers of the 
work. That the statements of the foreman and the 
superintendent that there was no danger seem no more 
than declarations of opinion on their part which the 
deceased might accept or reject as he deemed wise. 
And any instructions to him would not have added to 
his security or prevented the accident. That the ex- 
plosion was caused by the negligence of a fellow servant 
in the performance of a detail of the work in using a 
rod of steel instead of one of wood. That it is the duty 
of a master to use reasonable care to so conduct his 
business as not to subject servants to any unnecessary 
danger in the prosecution of their work. For this pur- 
pose he must provide a reasonably safe place in which 
servant is to work, reasonably safe tools and appliances 
with which to work, competent fellow servants with 
whom to work, and, if the work is of a complicated char- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 385 

acter, proper rules and regulations for the prosecution 
of the work and reasonable supervision to see that the 
rules are complied with. That the work in which the 
deceased was engaged not being of the latter character, 
probably it was not necessary to promulgate any rules 
on the "subject. The object, however, of establishing and 
enforcing rules is that each servant may so perform his 
work as not to occasion unnecessary danger to his 
fellow-servant. While in work of a simple character no 
rules may be necessary, still the duty of the master is 
the same to use reasonable care that each servant prop- 
erly does his work. Ordinarily, so far as liability to 
his servants is concerned, that duty is performed when 
he selects competent fellow-servants. But when he sees 
that one servant is so negligently doing his work as to 
occasion danger to a fellow-servant, it is his duty to in- 
terpose and direct that the work be properly done. 

Held, that it was a question for the jury whether, in 
view of the imminence of the danger, the general man- 
ager should not have intervened on the instant and dis- 
charged the foreman unless the latter properly prose- 
cuted the work. 

Held also, that the question of plaintiff's intestate's 
assumption of the risk was also for the jury. That 
doubtless he knew that dynamite was dangerous and he 
assumed such risk as was inherent even in the careful 
use of that article. But that there was no proof however, 
that he knew of the increased danger from the use of 
the metal rod. O'Brien v. Buffalo Furnace Co., 183 N. 
Y. 317, reversing 94 App. Div. 609. 

PENAL CODE. 

123. Section 168 subdivisions 5 and 6 and section 171. 

The defendants with others were indicted in January 
1907, for the crime of conspiracy in violation of sub- 
divisions 5 and 6 of section 168 of the Penal Code, for 
conspiracy in unlawfully combining to control and mo- 



386 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

nopolize the business, trades and callings of owners and 
lessees of theatres, owners and producers of plays and 
booking agents, and by entering into an agreement for 
the purpose of unlawfully removing and destroying com- 
petition among themselves, and between themselves and 
others engaged in similar occupations and business, and 
of unlawfully creating and maintaining monopoly 
therein, and to exclude and prevent other persons from 
engaging in said occupation and business, and to pre- 
vent by force, threats and intimidation from exercising 
their lawful trades and callings, to wit, the said lawful 
trades and callings of owners and lessees of theatres, 
owners and producers of plays and booking agents. 

Upon motion to dismiss the indictment made by de- 
fendants, 

Held, that although the agreement contained restric- 
tions and may have subjected their competitors to ex- 
pense and inconvenience, there could be no criminal 
conspiracy under subdivision 5 of section 168 of the 
Penal Code; since the purpose of the defendants, as 
well as the methods pursued by them under the agree- 
ments, were not unlawful; and that the evidence did 
not show that the defendants committed any illegal act 
by legal means or any act by illegal means. 

That the agreement was in no respect unlawful since 
the object of the association was to further the business 
of its members and the motive was not to raise prices or 
to restrict the supply of articles to the public, and the 
acts of defendants were not prejudical to the public 
welfare, nor was it illegal for defendants to agree that 
they would do business only with such persons as should 
refuse to deal with their rivals. Also 

Held that the owning, controlling and leasing of 
theatres, and the producing of plays and entertainments 
of the stage, and the booking of contracts for the pro- 
duction of plays, is not an article of trade or com- 
merce and that theatrical amusements cannot be classi- 
fied as articles of trade and commerce, and that the evi- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 387 

dence failed to show any crime had been committed 
by defendants under the indictment. 

Motion to dismiss indictment granted. People v. 
Klaw & Erlanger, 55 Misc. 72, June 1907. 

124. Section 1G8 of the Penal Code makes conspiracy 
a distinct offense but unless the conspiracy be made to 
commit a felony upon the person of another or to com- 
mit arson or burglary the offense is not complete except 
some act besides the agreement be done to effect the 
object thereof. Penal Code section 168-171. 

An indictment for conspiracy, save in the excepted 
cases of the felonies mentioned, requires in order to 
make it a good pleading to aver the overt acts done pur- 
suant to the conspiracy. The gravamen of the offense, 
however, is the conspiracy and not the overt acts. 
Green v. Davies, 100 App. Div. 359-362 ; citing 158 N. Y. 
392 ; 31 App. Div. 203 ; 139 N. Y. 251 ; reversed on other 
grounds 182 N. Y. 199. See People ex rel. Burnham 
v. Flynn, 114 App. Div. 578; 49 Misc. 329. 

Section 170. See Jacobs v. Cohen, 183 N. Y. 212 ; 184 
N. Y. 524; People v. Marcus, 185 N. Y. 263; 110 App. 
Div. 295. 

Section 171a. See People v. Marcus, 185 K Y. 259; 
110 App. Div. 256. 

Section 259. Brighton Athletic Club v. McAdoo, 47 
Misc. 434. 

125. Penal Code, Section 171a. 

Where defendant was alleged to be a person of a 
corporation and an employer of labor, and that he did 
on behalf of said corporation and as such employer of 
labor coerce and compel another person to enter into 
a written agreement on the part of and from him not 
to join or become a member of any labor organization 
and as condition of his securing employment from and 
continuing in the employment of said corporation, and 
was arrested and convicted and fined which fine he 
paid under protest and then made a motion in arrest 



388 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

of judgment upon the ground that the facts stated did 
not constitute a crime and the statute on which his 
arrest and conviction was based contravenes the four- 
teenth amendment of the Constitution of the United 
States and the Constitution of the State of New York, 
in that it restrains the right to free contract for pur- 
poses not calculated, intended, convenient or appro- 
priate to protect the public health or to serve the public 
comfort or safety. 

The motion in arrest of judgment was denied and ap- 
peal taken to the Appellate Division which reversed the 
judgment of conviction and from the order of reversal 
appeal was taken to the Court of Appeal. 

Held that the free and untrammeled right to contract 
is a part of the liberty guaranteed to every citizen by 
the Federal and State Constitution. That personal 
liberty is always subject to restraint when its exercise 
affects the safety, health or moral and general welfare 
of the public, but subject to such restraint and em- 
ployer and employee may make and enforce such con- 
tract relating to labor as they may agree upon. 

That the legislative intent in the use of the words 
" coerce or compel " in said section of the Penal Code 
is apparent on reading the section. They were not in- 
tended to refer to physical violence or interference with 
the person of the employee. In Lochner v. N. Y. 198 
U. S. 45, the court in construing the words of section 
110 of the Labor Law (Chap. 415 of 1897) says: The 
mandate of the statute is the substantial equivalent of 
an enactment that no employee shall contract or agree 
to work more than ten hours per clay. In the case now 
before us the mandate of the statute in the substantial 
equivalent of an enactment that a person shall not 
make the employment or the continuance of an employ- 
ment of a person conditional upon the employee not 
joining or becoming a member of a labor organization. 
There is nothing in the information upon which the 
warrant against the defendant was issued to show that 



THE "LABOR LAW." 389 

there was any interference with the freedom of the em- 
ployee in deciding whether he would enter into the con- 
tract with the corporation. That the courts of this 
state recognize the right of employees and employers to 
organize and co-operate for any lawful purpose. Con- 
tracts for labor may be freely made with individuals 
or a combination of individuals, and so long as they do 
not interfere with public safety, health or morals, they 
are not illegal. The views of this court as to what con- 
stitutes freedom to contract in relation to the purchase 
and sale of labor and as to what contracts relating 
thereto are lawful and enforceable were stated w T ith 
much detail and ability by the members of the court in 
170 N. Y. 315, and 183 N. Y. 287, were decided, and 
the decisions in those cases are substantially control- 
ling in the determination of this appeal. That a person 
employing labor may decide that it is to his advantage 
to employ non-union labor, in which case he may also 
decide that it is to his advantage to make the employ* 
ment conditional upon an agreement that such em- 
ployee will not join or become a member of a labor or- 
ganization. 

That freedom to contract which entitles an employer 
to make by agreement his plans of business wholly 
within the control of labor union entitled him, if he so 
desires, to require of his employees that they be wholly 
independent of any labor union. 

That the order of the Appellate Division reversing 
the judgment of conviction be reversed, and section 
171a of the Penal Code added in 1887 held unconsti- 
tutional. People v. Marcus, 185 N. Y. 257, affirming 
110 App. Div. 255, 

126. Penal Code sections 259, 2G0, 265. Baseball 
games on Sunday. 

Held, that there is no prohibition against the man 
who is forced to labor during the week-days preventing 
him from enjoying himself in an orderly and decent 



390 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

manner on Sunday, so long as the repose of the com- 
munity is not interrupted. 

That the prohibition is clear against Sunday games 
which are advertised, to which the general public are 
invited and which they attend in great numbers and 
where money is charged directly or indirectly or which 
are conducted for financial profit. 

Held, that the games of baseball on Sunday constitute 
a violation of the sections above quoted, if they are 
public games of baseball, i. e. games held out to the 
public, and to which the public are invited and admis- 
sion fee is charged, and constitute a violation of the 
law. Brighton Athletic Club v. McAdoo, 47 Misc. 432- 
434. 

127. Penal Code sections 263, 264, 267, 269, 270. 
Held, that these statutes must be liberally construed 

for the protection of the Sabbath, because it is in har- 
mony with the religious sentiment of the public and it 
also tends to promote public morals and good order. 
And 

Held, that the statute violates no provision of the 
Federal or State Constitution. That the Christian Sab- 
bath is one of the civil institutions of the state. 

And held unlawful to open a place of business for the 
sale of goods and the actual selling of them is a public 
selling, which the act for the observance of Sunday was 
designed to remedy. And it is the selling or offering 
for sale any article of merchandise that constitutes the 
offense and not the character of the article, unless it 
is among the exceptions in the act ; and it was unlawful 
to sell groceries on Sunday as not being among those 
exceptions. People ex rel. Moffatt v. Zimmerman, 48 
Misc. 203-204. 

128. Penal Code, Sections 263, 265, 277. 

A contract by the terms of which plaintiff was to give 
two theatrical performances per day, at the Colonial 
Music Hall, from April 10 to 16, 1905, both days inclu- 
sive, which included Sunday, and on reporting at the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 391 

hall at the time agreed upon to commence the perform- 
ance, he was informed that his services were not wanted, 
and he brought action for breach of contract, and ob- 
tained judgment for full amount of his claim and costs. 
The defense was mainly based upon the statutes called 
the Sunday Laws. 

Held, that the defense was well taken, and the con- 
tract void being in violation of said statutes. Hallen 
v. Thompson, et al., 48 Misc. 642-643, citing Mayor v. 
Eden Musee, 102 N. Y. 593. 

Penal Code, Section 3841. See People v. Williams, 
51 Misc. 385. 

Penal Code, Section 384m. People v. Marcus, 110 
App. Div. 261. 

Section 264, 48 Misc. 204. 

Section 265, 47 Misc. 434 ; 48 Misc. 643. 

Section 267, 48 Misc. 204. 

Section 269, 48 Misc. 204. 

Section 270. 48 Misc. 204. 

Section 3841, People v. Williams, 51 Misc. 385. 

Section 384m. People v. Marcus, 110 App. Div. 261 ; 
102 App. Div. 106; 112 App. Div. 606. 



392 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

THE EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 

129. Ch. 600, Laws of 1902, does not provide a remedy 
for an employee injured in the course of his employment 
which was exclusive or in abrogation of a right of action 
at common law. 

It gave him a right of action for such injury which 
w r as in addition to remedies theretofore existing. 

Where the complaint contains allegations appro- 
priate to and sufficient for the statement of a cause of 
action at common law, and especially after the pro- 
ceedings with reference to the complaint occurring 
at the 'Commencement of the trial the trial judge is justi- 
fied in treating the action as one at common law. Klep 
v. Bristol Mfg. Co., 107 A. D. 488. Affd. Court of Ap- 
peals, June 14, 1907. 189 N. Y. Mem. 20. 

130. The plaintiff's intestate, fireman upon one of 
defendant's locomotive engines, was killed in a head-on 
collision which occurred on the defendant's railroad, 
and the action was brought to recover damages for the 
death of the employee, alleged to have been caused by 
the negligence of the defendant employer. That the 
defendant omitted to adopt, promulgate and enforce 
proper rules, regulations and precautions for the opera- 
tion of its trains, and that in consequence of this neg- 
lect of duty, the collision occurred which resulted in the 
death of plaintiff's intestate. Trial court directed a 
verdict for the defendant upon the ground that the 
death of plaintiff's intestate was caused by the negli- 
gence of a co-employee. 

On appeal to the Court of Appeals, Werner, J., writ- 
ing the opinion says : While we think the case was 
clearly one for the jury, we are also convinced that the 
general issue as to the sufficiency of the defendant's 
rules and regulations should have been submitted as a 
question of fact. The defendant's train dispatcher, 
stood in the place of the master, knew that there was a 



THE " LABOR LAW." 393 

fourth section of train No. 156. The addition of a 
few words to order No. 42 would have given notice of 
that fact to the operator and to the crew of extra No. 
0324. Instead of making the situation entirely clear, 
the dispatcher sent an order which, to say the least, 
was of equivocal import and calculated to create doubt 
when there should have been naught but certainty. 
That the case is well within the rule to the effect that 
where a servant is injured by the negligent performance 
of an act or duty which the master as such is required 
to perform the latter is liable although the negligence 
was that of another servant to whom the performance 
of the duty was intrusted and this without regard to 
the rank or title of the person guilty of the negligence. 
McCarthy v. Penn. R. R. Co., 189 N. Y. 170. Reversing 
115 A. D. 915. 

The railroad company is not liable for an injuury 
to plaintiff caused by the negligent act of its employee 
who at the time of the accident was temporarily in the 
employ of and servants of a private shipper. 

Or where the employee of an engineering crew of a 
railroad company to do the work of the shipper was 
permanent. Sexton v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. Co., 114 
A. D. 678. Affd. on opinion by Court of Appeals, June 
14, 1907. 189 N. Y. Mem. 22 and 23 ; citing 151 N. Y. 
411, 156 N. Y. 75. 

132. Where the complaint sets out and the proof 
tends to establish a cause of action under the Employ- 
ers' Liability Act, Laws of 1902, Ch. 600, and plaintiff's 
intestate was in the employ of the defendant engaged 
in cleaning the engine from ashes in an ashpit provided 
for that purpose, and another person is in charge of 
this branch of business when in the absence of the regu- 
lar superintendent or foreman, always acted in that ca- 
pacity when the superintendent' was not present, hav- 
ing control of the men, directed them in the work of 
handling the engines, decided whether they should be 
dumped, when and where to be removed, and within 



394 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

his sphere was in supreme command. He is a person 
acting as superintendent according to the act. Mikos 
as admr. v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. Co. 118 A. D. 530. 
Citing 179 N. Y. 378. 185 N. Y. 556. 109 A. D. 222. 
101 A. D. 448. 

133. Where the plaintiff, a conductor on the railroad, 
and upon a train running on the occasion of the acci- 
dent, the jury may find from the evidence that the switch 
moved while the train was passing over it. They might 
find further that the defendant was guilty of negligence 
with reference to it. It was defective in itself, or the 
appliances for moving it were defective, or the tower- 
man was negligent in operating such appliances, and 
the accident was so caused. The case should have been 
submitted to the jury. France v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. 
Co., 118 A. D. 550. 

134. Where an action is brought under the Employ- 
ers' Liability Act, Laws of 1902, Chap. 600, to recover 
damages for personal injuries, and the plaintiff is non- 
suited and the judgment of non-suit affirmed, with costs 
and thereafter a new action is brought at common law. 

Held, That the remedies sought in each action is the 
same, and the plaintiff could not be relieved from the 
general rule requiring payment of costs imposed on 
the termination of the first action before bringing the 
second action. Muratore v. Pirkl, 109 App. Div. 146. 

135. The Employers' Liability Act, Laws of 1902, 
Ch. 600, has not changed the general law with respect 
to contributory negligence. 

The first section provides that there can be recovery 
only where the employee is himself in the exercise of 
due care and diligence, the modification of the doctrine 
of contributory negligence provided by section 3 of the 
act relates to continuance in the employment after the 
knowledge of defects in the ways, works and machinery 
provided by the employee. 

The giving of the notice prescribed by section 2 is a 
condition precedent to the maintenance of an action 



THE " LABOR LAW." 395 

for the recovery of compensation for injury or death 
under this act. The act does not take away any common 
law right of action for negligence. It gives to the em- 
ployee an additional cause of action against his em- 
ployer arising out of the negligence of a superintendent 
or one acting as such. 

An employee cannot bring his action under the act 
and without amendment of his complaint recover upon 
a common-law cause of action. 

At common law an employer is bound to provide his 
employee with reasonable safe ways, work and ma- 
chinery. 

Under the common law, although the employer is 
liable to his employee for the acts of his alter ego, he is 
not responsible for the negligent acts of one exercising 
superintendence in the management and detail of the 
work, for such a person is deemed a fellow-servant. 

The difference between a common-law action and one 
under the act is further illustrated by the fact that 
under the act the action must be brought within one 
year, while an action for personal injuries because of 
negligence at common law may be brought at any time 
within three years under section 383 of the Code of 
Civil Procedure. 

The liability of the employer under the common law 
and under the act being different, so far at least as his 
liability for the negligence of his superintendent is con- 
cerned, the notice in order to permit the bringing of 
an action under the statute, should be sufficient to ap- 
prise him that liability is claimed because of the statute 
and under its provisions. 

Such decisions as have been made all show the neces- 
sity and importance of the notice in order to entitle a 
party to claim the benefits of the Employers' Liability 
Act. 

The service of the complaint alleging common law- 
negligence only is ineffectual as a notice and in order 
to entitle an employee or his representative in case of 



396 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

his death to recover under the Employers' Liability Act, 
a notice setting forth the facts required by the statute 
and showing his intention to make a claim for dam- 
ages under the provision of the act must be served 
within the prescribed time. Chisholm, as admr. v. Man- 
hattan Railway Co. 116 A. D. 320. 

Opinion by Houghton, J. All concur. 

The intimation to the contrary in Johnson v. Roke, 83 
App. Div. 351, that the service of such a complaint 
might be a compliance with the statute with respect to 
notice, not approved. 

136. An action based upon the Employers' Liability 
Act which in section 1 provided that where personal 
injury is caused to an employee who is himself in the 
exercise of due care and diligence at the time by reason 
of the negligence of any person in the service of the 
employer entrusted with and exercising superinten- 
dence, &c, and section 3 which provided that an em- 
ployee by entering upon or continuing in the ser- 
vice of the employers shall be presumed to have as- 
sented to the necessary risks of the occupation or em- 
ployment and no others, &c. 

Held, that the rule requiring an employer to furnish 
his workmen with a safe place to work has no appli- 
cation to a case where the men were engaged in cre- 
ating a place which is unsafe because of the very work 
that they are doing. Bertolami v. United Engineering 
& Contracting Co., 120 A. D. 192. Citrone v. O'Rourke 
Engineering & Constructing Co., 188 N. Y. 339. 

137. Where an action was brought to recover dam- 
ages for injury to plaintiff by reason of the negligence 
of his employer, and the complaint alleged in sub- 
stance that plaintiff was directed by defendant, his 
employer, to enter an elevator constructed and under 
the supervision and control of the defendant, that it 
was negligently constructed and that by reason of de- 
fendant's negligence in directing plaintiff to enter the 
car while it was in condition as described the car fell 



THE "LABOR LAW." 397 

and plaintiff sustained injuries. That within 120 
days after the occurrence of the accident due notice 
in writing of the time, place and cause of the injury 
was given to the defendant in the manner prescribed 
by chapter 600 of 1902. 

That at the opening of the trial and close of plain- 
tiff's evidence, the defendant moved that plaintiff be 
compelled to elect whether he proceeded at common 
law or under the Employers' Liability Act. When the 
evidence was all in, the plaintiff was directed to and did 
elect to proceed under the act after a suggestion by 
the trial court that there was no common law cause of 
action. The defendant appellant claimed that the com- 
plaint failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a 
cause of action under the Employers' Liability Act. 

Held, that the Employers' Liability Act extended 
the liability of the employer of labor at common law 
and in order to safely plead a cause of action there- 
under, required, as a condition precedent to a recovery, 
that notice be given of the accident to the master. It 
gives an additional cause of action; it prescribed that 
a master shall be liable for the negligence of the super- 
intendent, or the person acting as such. At common 
law such a liability was not recognized; unless the 
superintending servant was the alter ego of the master 
with respect to the work. 

Held also, that it is not necessary in order to plead 
a cause of action under the Employers' Liability Act, 
that its precise language should be made use of, pro- 
vided that it appear plainly from what is alleged that 
the cause of action was within the provisions of the 
act, and that its requirement of the giving of a notice 
to the defendant had been complied with. Harris v. 
Baltimore Machine & El. Works, 188 N. Y. 141. Citing 
Gmaehle v. Kosenburg, 178 N. Y. 117. 

138. Plaintiff a track repairer, whose duties re- 
quired him to work on elevated structures, around and 
between railway tracts upon which trains were being 



398 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

operated. In charge of the gang plaintiff was work- 
ing with was a boss or foreman and part of whose duties 
was to warn the workmen of approaching trains. At 
the time of the accident complained of, the foreman 
was temporarily absent from where plaintiff was work- 
ing and no warning given, and he was struck by a pass- 
ing train while at work. 

The Trial Court took all questions respecting the 
negligence of the defendant from the jury, except that 
of the foreman in failing to perform his duty of giving 
warning of an approaching train, a charge respecting 
his duty to give warning so that a reasonably safe place 
might be provided for the plaintiff in which to perform 
his work, he stood in the place of the master and was 
its alter ego and his neglect was that of defendant, and 
refused to charge that such neglect in failing to give 
warning was the neglect of a fellow servant. 

Held, that such instruction was erroneous. 

That the action was not under the Employers' Lia- 
bility Act, Laws of 1902, Chap. 600, but at common 
law, and it must be tested by the rules applicable to 
such an action. 

That the giving of warning of approaching danger 
by a foreman to a gang of workmen is a detail of the 
work of the master and at common law the master is 
not liable to his employee for the negligent act of a 
superintendent in the management and detail of the 
work although the superintendent is of a higher degree 
than the one injured, he is still a servant as to the detail 
and management of the work, and not the alter ego of 
the master and his negligence in those respects is a 
negligence of a coservant for which the master is not 
responsible. 

That it was to relieve from the harshness of this rule 
that the Employers' Liability Act was enacted by the 
Legislature. 

To obtain the privilege of that act, the action must 



"THE LABOR LAW." 399 

be brought under it and not for common-law negli- 
gence. 

That an employee cannot bring his action under the 
act and without amendment of his complaint recover 
on a common-law cause of action, nor can he bring it 
at common law and recover under the act. 

That in order to entitle an employee to the benefit of 
the provisions of the Employers' Liability Act he must 
bring his action under that act and conform to its terms 
in so doing. And that in an action for common-law 
negligence he is not entitled to the benefits of its pro- 
visions, but must be governed by the rules of the com- 
mon law. 

The Employers' Liability Act is not an abridgment 
of the rights of the employee against his employer as 
they existed at the time of its passage. Such rights as 
he had at common law still exist, and the act has added 
other rights of action which he may take advantage of 
if he conforms to the provisions of the statute. Curren 
v. Manhattan Bailway Co., 118 App. Div. 347, citing 
92 A. D. 30G ; 97 A. D. 252 ; 105 N. Y. 159 ; 126 N. Y. 1 ; 
90 A. D. 577; 181 N. Y. 519; 178 N. Y. 147; 185 N. Y. 
613. 

139. Plaintiff brought action to recover damages 
resulting from the death of plaintiff's intestate, through 
the alleged negligence of defendant. The decedent and 
one Wilson were in defendant's employ, Wilson a steam- 
fitter or plumber, decedent as his helper. Wilson was 
directed by the foreman of defendant's shop to repair 
a leaking water pipe near the ceiling of the building, 
which was about nineteen feet from the ground. Wil- 
son went to another room in defendant's plant, found a 
couple of ladders which were brought in and placed 
against the wall to the pipe and after the ladder had 
been raised against the wall decedent ascended one of 
the ladders and Wilson the other. 

The evidence tended to show that the ladders selected 
were old, worn and defective, but that there were numer- 



400 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

ous other ladders upon the plant which could have 
been selected had Wilson looked further. The testi- 
mony of Wilson showed that when decedent was up on 
the ladder which he, decedent, had ascended, WMlson 
heard a crack above which sounded like the cracking 
of wood, and looking up he saw decedent upon the 
ladder with one hand holding on and the other down. 
Almost instantly the decedent fell backward striking a 
shafting that ran through the shop, which was revolv- 
ing at a speed of 125 revolutions a minute, causing de- 
cedent's death. 

The trial judge granted a nonsuit on the ground that 
the evidence failed to show that the ladder had broken 
causing decedent to fall. The Appellate Division re- 
versed holding that the evidence of Wilson in reference 
to the cracking was sufficient to raise a question of fact 
for the jury. 

Held, Haight, J., That the evidence with reference 
to the breaking of the ladder causing decedent to fall 
was sufficient to carry the case to the jury and sustain a 
finding that the ladder was defective and by reason 
thereof broke and caused the accident, and that as it ap- 
pears that the ladder was procured by Wilson and that 
there were other ladders upon the premises from which a 
proper selection might have been made. It was negli- 
gence on his part in selecting an improper and de- 
fective ladder. And if Wilson was a co-employee merely 
with decedent then defendant would not be liable and 
that under the Employers' Liability Act, (chap. 600 of 
1902) that statute refers to the individual whom an 
employer has entrusted with and whose sole and prin- 
cipal duty is that of exercising superintendence. That 
Wilson was employed by defendant as a steamfitter or 
plumber and as he testified he had no power to hire or 
discharge his helper, but decedent was employed by 
defendant and was directed to serve as Wilson's helper. 
That they were laborers engaged together to do the same 
class of work ; Wilson as the mechanic fitting or repair- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 401 

ing pipes and decedent assisting him in the work, whilst 
it was decedent's duty to obey Wilson's directions in 
various ways which were necessary in the conducting 
of the work. The relation between them was merely 
that of co-employee and that Wilson did not occupy the 
position of and had never been intrusted with the 
powers of superintendent within the meaning of the 
statute above referred to. 

Held further, That the case is brought within the rule 
often recognized and applied to the effect that where 
the master has upon hand at the place where the work is 
performed sufficient and suitable material or appliances 
for doing of the work, he is not liable for injuries re- 
sulting to a workman by reason of an error in judg- 
ment of the foreman or of a co-employee in selecting 
defective material or appliances, and that the error in 
judgment of Wilson in selecting the defective ladder, 
when there were numerous other ladders upon the prem- 
ises from which a suitable ladder could have been 
selected, is not an act for which the defendant can be 
held liable. McConnell v. Morse I. W. & D. D. Co., 187 
X. Y. 341, citing Vogel v. Am. Bridge Co., 180 N. Y. 
373 ; Ki miner v. Weber, 151 N. Y. 417. Eeversing 110 
A. D. 920. 

140. In an action under the Employers' Liability Act 
to recover damages for the death of plaintiff's intestate 
resulting from the explosion of a digester in defendant's 
mill, and the questions were as to defendant's negligence 
and the contributory negligence of the deceased, and his 
assumption of the risk of the accident. 

The explosion was the result of some pressure from 
the inside and it was claimed that no explosion would 
have occurred if the steel shell had not been defective. 

Held, that the question of defendant's negligence was 
one of fact for the jury and it could not be said as matter 
of law that there was no negligence on defendant's part. 

Held, that the question of assumed risk and contribu- 
tory negligence rested alike upon the proposition that 



402 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the deceased knew or should have known of the defective 
condition of the digester and continued to work about 
the same. That he was not bound as matter of law to 
know all that the defendant was required to know about 
the safety of the digester. That the defendant was 
charged with the duty of inspection. That the deceased 
was not; and that it could not be said as matter of law 
that the deceased knew or should have known of the 
defect which caused the explosion. That it was a ques- 
tion for the jury and their findings for the plaintiff 
upon this issue cannot be said to be contrary to and 
against the weight of evidence. Also 

Held, that the credibility of defendant's superintend- 
ent as a witness charged with the negligence which 
caused the accident was for the jury. 

That plaintiff had the burden of proof as to contribu- 
tory negligence and that the defendant had the burden 
of proof as to assumed risk. Also 

Held, that the service of a typewritten notice under 
section 2 of Chap. 600 of 1902, The Employers' Liability 
Act, was the serving of a sufficient notice in writing. 
Hunt v. Dexter Sulphite Pulp & Paper Co., 100 App. 
Div. 119, affirmed without opinion 183 N. Y. 544. 

141. A complaint alleging grounds of negligence at 
common law and also under the Employers' Liability 
Act, and the defendants moved for an order striking- 
out the allegations involved in a common law action, 
and the order appealed from struck out those allega- 
tions unless plaintiff amended the complaint separately 
stating his common law action and his action under the 
Employers' Liability Act. 

Held, that whether the facts bring the case under the 
Employers' Liability Act or whether he must rely upon 
his common law rights depends upon the evidence which 
he is able to produce upon the trial. That if the plain- 
tiff establishes his cause of action under the Employers' 
Liability Act the common law allegations are surplus- 
age, and that the matter directed to be struck out prop- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 403 

ei-ly belonged to the complaint, and having but a single 
cause of action plaintiff not compelled to plead two 
causes, and that the allegations of negligence which are 
not admitted or proved may be a surplusage and plain- 
tiff had a right to submit his case upon the pleadings 
as they originally stood. Order reversed. Arcade v. 
N. Y. Cont. & Trucking Co., 116 App. Div. 793. 

112. Where the plaintiff alleges negligence on the 
part of the defendant, both at common law and under 
the Employers' Liability Act (Laws of 1902, Ch. 600) 
and where the plaintiff was employed by the defendant, 
a manufacturer of safes, and the defendant's foreman 
directed the plaintiff, a machinist of many years ex- 
perience, to repair a certain belt with wire furnished by 
the defendant, and the jury finds that the wire so 
furnished was a hard copper wire, while that previously 
in use was about the same dimension but a soft ductile 
wire; and the negligence alleged is that this hard wire 
was brittle and liable to break and while the plaintiff 
was engaged in sewing the belt with this hard copx>er 
wire, it broke and the broken end flew back and struck 
plaintiff in the eye practically destroying the sight. 

Held, that if the wire was what the plaintiff said it 
was and the master was bound to know the exact char- 
acter of the wire. It is not within the rules of reason- 
able care to say that the master should have looked for- 
ward to the use of this wire in sewing the ends of a belt 
together and anticipate that it would break and the re- 
coiling end fly back in the eye of the man who was 
making this' ordinary use of the Avire; and there could 
be no neglect of any duty which the master owed to 
the plaintiff and he is not entitled to recover. Dam- 
janovic v. Herring-Hall-Marvin Safe Co., 119 App. Div. 
12. 

143. In an action brought under the Employers' 
Liability Act (ch. 600 of 1902) after notice given to 
defendant as required by that statute, where plaintiff's 
intestate was a car coupler in defendant's employ. In 



404 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

the performance of his duty it was necessary to go be- 
tween the engine and the car platform to couple the 
drawbar of the engine to that on the car by a link and 
pin and connect two pieces of vacuum hose by which the 
brakes were operated and fasten safety chains, etc., 
and there was a train dispatcher whose duty it was to 
stand on the platform to observe the coupling of the 
engine to the train, and when that was done to signal 
that the train was ready to start, and plaintiff's intes- 
tate was last seen between the car and engine, appar- 
ently about to make the coupling when the train dis- 
patcher sounded the gong for the train to move and the 
train started and the deceased was found crushed at 
the rear truck of the forward car. 

Held, that there were three questions involved in this 
case. 

1. The sufficiency of the evidence to show how the 
accident happened? 

2. If it happened while deceased was coupling the 
train or before he had withdrawn from between the car 
and engine to a place of safety, was the train dispatcher 
negligent in giving the signal for the train to start? 

3. Was the defendant, under the statute, liable for 
the train dispatcher's negligence in this respect? 

HeJd, that the proposition was too clear to require 
any discussion, and 

Held, that it was a question of fact for the jury to 
determine how the accident happened. 

That apart from the provisions of the Employers' 
Liability Act defendant would not have been liable, but 
by that statute a new liability was imposed on the 
master. Section 1 gives an employee or his personal 
representative, in case the injury results in death, the 
right to compensate where he has been injured by reason 
of the negligence of any person in the service of the em- 
ployer entrusted with and exercising superintendence, 
whose sole or principal duty is that of superintendence, 
or in the absence of such superintendent, of any person 



"THE LABOR LAW." 405 

acting as superintendent with the authority or consent 
of such employer. 

Held, that the making up of the trains and their dis- 
patch from the yard were functions imposed on the 
superintendent or train dispatcher as a part of his duty 
as such, and were duties or functions of superintend- 
ence. McHugh v. Manhattan Ry. Co., 179 N. Y. 378; 
reversing 88 App. Div. 554. 

144. Plaintiff was employed by defendant as super- 
intendent of its knitting mill and brought action for 
negligence, making allegations to bring it under the 
Employers' Liability Act 1902, ch. 600. 

Held, that the fact that plaintiff was superintendent 
of the defendant makes him none the less an employee 
and that act does not assume to make any distinction be- 
tween different classes or kinds of employees, but is for 
the benefit of all employees of whatever grade. 

The plaintiff was injured while riding upon a freight 
elevator in the mill. 

On the part of defendant it was claimed that the com- 
plaint was properly dismissed and for the reason that 
after the elevator came to a stop within about a foot of 
the floor to which plaintiff was going he should have 
stepped from the platform of the elevator to the floor 
and been in a place of absolute safety. 

Held, There would be great force in this contention 
were it not for the Employers' Liability Act which pro- 
vides in section 3, that the question whether the em- 
ployee understood and assumed the risk of such injury 
or was guilty of contributory negligence by his continu- 
ance in the same place and course of employment with 
knowledge of the risk of injury, shall be one of fact 
subject to the usual powers of the court in a proper case 
to set aside a verdict rendered contrary to the evidence. 

Held that it could not be said as matter of law that 
the plaintiff assumed the risk nor that he was guilty of 
contributory negligence as matter of law. Aken v. 
Barnett & Aufsesser Knitting Co., 118 App. Div. 403. 



406 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

145. In an action under the Employers' Liability 
Act plaintiff alleged that defendant was negligent in 
failing to provide a reasonably safe tool with which 
plaintiff was to prosecute his work, and in employing 
incompetent and inefficient workmen, and in causing and 
directing the work to be performed in an improper and 
dangerous manner, in that defendant's superintendent 
directed it to be done hastily and recklessly and that 
plaintiff was engaged in holding a hand drill and in 
drilling a hole as directed by the foreman, and it became 
necessary to use a longer drill than he had been holding, 
and without any direction he went to the tool box and 
the only one long enough was one " mushrooned " or 
" burred " at the striking end. After watching the 
work a short time the foreman directed the striker to 
swing his hammer faster, when a foul blow struck the 
end of the drill, breaking off one of the burrs, which 
struck plaintiff in the eye inflicting the injuries claimed 
for. 

Held, Houghton, J., that if it be conceded that the 
drill was defective, the conclusion of the jury that plain- 
tiff did not assume the risk of using it, which was neces- 
sarily involved in their verdict in his favor, was against 
the weight of evidence. 

That while under section 3 of the Employers' Liability 
Act whether or not plaintiff assumed the particular 
risk was a question for the jury to determine, still if 
their verdict on that issue was against the weight of 
evidence it was the duty of the court to set it aside. 

Held, also that as the defendant's superintendent did 
not direct plaintiff to use the drill which he was using 
or that he knew it was burred and it was not negligent 
for him to direct plaintiff and his companion to con- 
tinue their work and to hurry about it. Kellogg v. N. Y. 
Edison Co., 120 App. Div. 410. 

146. Where the case was submitted to the jury upon 
the theory that the action was brought under the Em- 



THE "LABOR LAW." 407 

plovers' Liability Act (chap. 600 of 1902) and verdict 
rendered for plaintiff. On appeal 
Held, erroneous for three reasons. 

1. That, considered as an action under the Employ- 
ers' Liability Act the notice given to the defendant was 
insufficient. 

2. That the facts did not bring the case within that 
act. 

3. That no cause of action at common law was es- 
tablished. 

That the only notice was a letter to defendant signed 
by the plaintiff by his attorneys, which did not in ex- 
press terms show that the claim was made under the Em- 
ployers' Liability Act, nor that the injuries were caused 
through a negligent defect in the condition of the ways, 
works or machinery connected with or used in the busi- 
ness of the employer, or through the negligence of any 
person in the service of the employer, entrusted with 
and exercising superintendence whose sole or principal 
duty was that of superintendence, or in the absence of 
such superintendent, of any person acting as superin- 
tendent with the authority or consent of such employer, 
which, constitutes the elements of a cause of action 
under the Employers' Liability Act. 

That it must be regarded as now well settled that a 
notice to constitute the basis for an action under the 
Employers' Liability Act must fairly apprise the' em- 
ployer that the claim is made under the statute and 
point out the negligence from which the injury arose. 

Held also, that the court erred in instructing the jury 
as matter of law that the plaintiff did not take upon 
himself the risk of an unsafe place in which to work, 
and that the only risks he assumed were those incident 
to the work he had to do after the place in which he 
was to do that work was made safe or reasonably safe. 
The only risks which an employee now assumes, as mat- 
ter of law, are those to which the learned court referred 
in these instructions to the jury, (The Employers' Lia- 



408 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

bility Act, section 3,) but the learned court overlooked 
the other provision of the Employers' Liability Act, 
which has been construed as meaning that whether or 
not the employee has assumed other risks is a question 
of fact to be determined by the jury. Ortolano v. Deg- 
non Contracting Co., 120 App. Div. 59, citing section 1, 
section 2, and section 3 and various other cases. 

147. Where defendant was distributing rails along 
its track with a gang of men of whom plaintiff was one 
— unloading them from a train of platform cars, en- 
closed by low sidings and end, the men got aboard the 
cars as the train was about to start. Plaintiff sat on the 
end of one of the cars with his feet on the floor. The 
engineer backed his engine against the train with such 
violence when he went to couple it that the rails shoved 
or skidded along the floor, caught and broke plaintiff's 
leg. 

Held, that the negligence of the engineer was con- 
cededly that of a fellow workman, and defendant not 
liable. DeSantes v. N. Y. N. H. & H. R. R. Co., 119 App. 
Div. 95. 

148. Plaintiff was a station agent of the defendant. 
He brought action to recover for personal injuries by 
falling into an excavation dug by defendant, against a 
derailing switch there placed. Two days before the 
accident defendant commenced the construction of a 
derailing switch on one of its sidings. The excavation 
was made and switch set up on the premises occupied by 
plaintiff who had been in the habit of going from his 
house to the station by a path across his own premises; 
and he started to go from his house to the station at 
night which was dark and rainy, when he fell into the 
excavation striking the switch or switch handle and 
receiving injuries. At that time plaintiff was station 
master of the defendant and under his employment 
duties were imposed upon him concerning this switch 
which, if they had been discharged, would have pre- 
vented the accident to himself or to third parties. And 



THE "LABOR LAW." 409 

had the plaintiff discharged his duty to the defendant 
lie would have been apprised of the location and con- 
dition of the switch and the accident to him been 
avoided. Wood v. N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co., 184 N. Y. 
290; 100 App. Div. 511 reversed. 

149. Where the action is brought under section 3 of 
the Employers' Liability Act, the question is whether or 
not the deceased assumed the risk under the circum- 
stances of the case. 

Held no longer a question of law but for the jury and 
that if the risk of the accident which killed the deceased 
Avas an obvious one and was in fact assumed by him, he 
is not barred from recovery, and that the verdict on this 
point should not be disturbed. 

And where the jury are authorized from the facts of 
the case to find that there was a reasonable and practi- 
cable rule which the defendant could and should have 
furnished for use in their yard and that their omission 
to promulgate such a rule was negligence which con- 
tributed to the death of plaintiff's intestate. 

Held, that the jury were authorized to find the de- 
fendants negligent in not providing such a rule as was 
suggested on the part of the plaintiff upon the trial of 
the case. Freemont v. Boston & Maine R. R. Co., Ill 
App. Div. 831, affirmed without opinion, 187 N. Y. 571. 

150. Where it is alleged in the complaint that the 
plaintiff being in the employ of defendant was directed 
by it to enter an elevator which it had constructed and 
had under its. control, and use the same, and did so and 
that it was negligently constructed in that the cable by 
which it was suspended was negligently fastened to the 
top of the car, and by reason thereof and defendant's 
negligence in directing plaintiff to use the car, the 
cable became unfastened and the car fell and the com- 
plaint alleges services of the notice required by the 
.statute. 

Held, Gayxor, J., that the complaint was well drawn 
in alleging that the negligence was that of defendant 



410 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

and in not alleging that plaintiff was directed by the 
superintendent to use the car, and that the negligence 
to be recovered for under the statute is that of the de- 
fendant and not of the superintendent or any agent or 
employee, the same as under the common law, and 

Held, that the statute merely changes the common 
law rule by making the negligence of the superintendent 
that of the master in the cases where at common law it 
would be that of a fellow servant. That the statute took 
the superintendent out of the category of fellow servant, 
and that the negligence of the superintendent under the 
statute is that of the defendant and not of a fellow serv- 
ant. Harris v. Baltimore Machine & Elevator Co., 112 
App. Div. 389, affirmed, 188 N. Y. 141. 

151. In an action under the Employers' Liability 
Act, where the facts justify a finding that plaintiff's 
intestate was killed through the negligence of defend- 
ant's superintendent who was exercising superintend- 
ence within the intent and scope of that act, and the 
question whether plaintiff's intestate was guilty of con- 
tributory negligence is a question of fact and has been 
submitted to the jury. 

Held, that the verdict of the jury in favor of the 
plaintiff finding that the defendant's superintendent 
was negligent and that there was no contributory negli- 
gence on the part of plaintiff's intestate was proper 
and judgment affirmed. McBride v. N. Y. Tunnel Co., 
113 App. Div. 821, affirmed without opinion, 187 N. Y. 
573. 

152. Plaintiff a bricklayer in the employ of defend- 
ant on the day of the accident, working on a scaffold on 
a building in course of erection by the defendants, help- 
ing defendants to lay an eight-inch wall on top of three 
courses of brick, when the plaintiff placed his foot upon 
the wall it gave away and lie fell into the cellar receiv- 
ing injuries which he complained and seeked to hold 
defendants liable under the Employers' Liability Act, 



THE » LABOR LAW." 411 

on the ground that they had not provided a safe place 
for the employee to work in. 

Held, as matter of law, if the manner of construction 
was unsafe and unusual, the same being under the sup- 
erintendence of the defendants, liability would attach to 
them ; and whether the manner was or was not unsafe 
and unusual was a question of fact for the jury, as was 
also the question whether the plaintiff was guilty of 
contributory negligence in using the wall at the time for 
a foothold ; and as the evidence on both these points was 
contradictory, it was for the jury to determine the 
issue. 

The defendants' counsel made a request that the court 
charge the jury that there was no evidence in the case 
that the defendants failed to provide the plaintiff with 
safe machinery, platform, or safe place to work and the 
court thereupon so charged. 

That as there was such evidence it constituted rever- 
sible error. Meehan v. Hogan, 54 Misc. 241. 

153. The plaintiff about 18 years of age was working 
on a machine in defendant's employ and injured. De- 
fendant's foreman put him to work on the machine. 
After working about three weeks he told the foreman 
it was out of order and shook too much. The foreman 
told him not to mind about that but to go on with his 
work. Plaintiff again spoke to the formean requesting 
him to have the machine fixed. The foreman said he 
would have it fixed in a couple of days and that plaintiff 
should continue to use the machine. Then after work- 
ing about two hours on the machine it jumped or wab- 
bled and injured plaintiff. 

Held, that under the Employer's Liability Act the 
assumption of risk by continuing in a dangerous posi- 
tion is a question of fact. 

That the promise of the foreman to repair the machine 
made to plaintiff to induce him to continue work 
thereon, constituted a contract on the part of the em- 
ployer to assume the risk, and relieved the servant there- 



412 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

from, which agreement was in force at the time of the 
accident. Altman v. Schwab Mfg. Co., 54 Misc. 243. 

154. Plaintiff a laborer in the employ of defendant 
in cleaning away debris from around the base of a pillar 
that was being encased in brick in the subcellar of a 
building in course of construction. Two or more brick- 
layers in defendant's employ were laying brick around 
the pillar and were upon the scaffold about thirteen 
feet above where plaintiff was at work ; a brick fell from 
the scaffold striking plaintiff on the head causing the 
injuries complained of. The foreman of the defendant 
directed the plaintiff to work in the place where he was 
engaged when he was hit, and he knew that the brick- 
layers w T ere at work over him. 

Held, that the immediate cause of the accident w T as 
clearly the negligent act of a fellow servant, for which 
the defendant was not liable. 

That the knowledge of the plaintiff when he engaged 
in the work that the workmen were over him laying 
brick and the absence of proof that there was any as- 
surance of safety given him, leads to the inference that 
he assumed the risk incident to his employment. Willis 
v. Thompson-Starrett Co., 54 Misc. 238. 

When Municipal Corporation Liable for Negligence of Em- 
ployees and When Not.— 

155. Plaintiff recovered a verdict against the defend- 
ant, a municipal corporation, for alleged negligence of 
persons having charge of an elevator in a police station 
in the city. He was injured by falling to the bottom of 
the elevator well through an open door of the elevator 
shaft. He was an employee of a firm of contractors who 
were employed to repair the roof of the police station. 
The elevator was operated by an assistant engineer in 
the employ of the city. It was claimed in behalf of the 
plaintiff that the defendant although a municipal cor- 
poration engaged solely in the discharge of public gov- 
ernmental functions as distinguished from municipal 



THE "LABOR LAW." 413 

functions, in the maintenance, management and repair 
of the police station, and, therefore, not responsible for 
the acts or omissions of those engaged in applying the 
building to such public purposes of government. 

Held, that the trial court and Appellate Divisions were 
not only justified or required to hold that the alleged 
contributory negligence was a question for the jury. 
But that the defendant was not responsible for the acts 
or omissions of those engaged in applying the building 
to such public purposes of government. That two kinds 
of duties are imposed on municipal corporations, the 
one governmental and a branch of the general adminis- 
tration of the state, and the other quasi private or cor- 
porate ; and that in the exercise of the latter duties the 
municipality is liable for the acts of its officers and 
agents, while in the former it is not. Wilcox v. City of 
Rochester, Dec. 1907, 190 N. Y. 137. 

156. In an action under the Employers' Liability Act 
(Laws of 1902, chap. 600) by a servant against a master 
for personal injuries. Defendant was a manufacturer of 
soda ash and similar products. Plaintiff had been in 
defendant's employ, and a portion of his duty was to oil 
the machinery. There was a foreman of the gang to 
which plaintiff belonged. Plaintiff was drawn over a 
shaft and received injuries which resulted in the loss of 
his leg. Two questions were submitted to the jury : 
First, whether the foreman was a person whose sole or 
principal duty was that of superintendence; second, 
whether it was negligent not to stop the machinery when 
plaintiff was put at work to repair the injury to the belt 
and pulley; and the plaintiff recovered a verdict. A 
motion for a new trial was denied and appeal taken by 
defendant and judgment in favor of plaintiff was re- 
versed by the Appellate Division from that order and 
appeal was taken to the Court of Appeal. 

The order of reversal by the Appellate Division was 
made solely on questions of law, and the ground on 



414 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

which the Appellate Division placed its decision was 
that the negligence of the foreman was the negligence of 
a fellow-servant in a detail of the work for which the 
master was not liable. 

Held, erroneous and that the Employers' Liability Act 
gives an additional cause of action because it prescribed 
that a master shall be liable for the negligence of the 
superintendent or person acting as such. At common 
law such a liability was not recognized ; unless the super- 
intendent was the alter ego of the master with respect 
to the work. That before the Employers' Liability Act 
it was unnecessary to distinguish between negligence of 
a superintendent and that of a co-laborer of the same 
grade as that of the person injured so far as any liability 
of the master was involved. The statute has changed 
this. 

Held also, that the objection that the plaintiff as- 
sumed the risk is answered by the provision of the sta- 
tute, which enacts : " The question whether the employee 
understood and assumed the risk of such injury, or was 
guilty of contributory negligence, — shall be one of 
fact." 

Order of Appellate Division reversed and judgment 
of the Trial Term affirmed, with costs in both courts. 
Guilmartin v. Solvay Process Co., 189 N. Y. 490. 

157. Plaintiff's intestate was in the employ of de- 
fendant who was engaged in the construction of the 
Hall of Records in Brooklyn, and while engaged in using 
a runway on the third floor of the incompleted build- 
ing, and while pushing his barrow ahead of him, on 
reaching a derrick he tried to pass by turning his barrow 
sidewise, when it became stuck and held by the derrick, 
and in his effort to extricate it one of the handles hit 
him on the chest, knocked him off the planks from which 
he fell to his death to the floors below. A verdict for 
|3,500 was rendered in favor of plaintiff from which 
defendant appealed. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 415 

Held, that the jury was justified in finding that the 
defendant did not provide a safe place to work, and in 
finding negligence in this respect under the circum- 
stances, where an eighteen-inch runway provided to be 
used by men trundling wheelbarrows, suspended in the 
air, unprotected, was obstructed in such a manner as to 
require the moving of the barrow sidewise to allow 
passage ; and that the intestate was not guilty of contri- 
butory negligence, and that it could not be held as mat- 
ter of law that he was guilty of contributory negligence 
in allowing his barrow to become caught in the derrick. 

Also that he was not guilty of contributory negligence 
in trying to extricate his implement. Morrisey v. Dwyer, 
121 App. Div. 247. 

158. In an action under the Employers' Liability 
Act, plaintiff was employed by the defendant, the owner 
of a large steel plant, in a large building four stories 
high, when he fell in an uncovered hole, going down 
twenty-six or twenty-eight feet, fracturing both legs and 
sustaining other serious injuries. He was working 
under a foreman who had charge of from ten to forty 
men. The foreman's duties were to look after the work 
and to see to the men. 

Plaintiff at the trial recovered a verdict of |5,500. 
The defendant made a motion to set aside the verdict 
which was granted and plaintiff appealed from that 
order. 

Held, that he was exercising an act of superintendence 
within the scope of the Employers' Liability Act. 

That many of the acts which formerly were held to be 
those of a fellow-servant and related to a detail of the 
work have been eliminated from that category and come 
within the scope of superintendency by virtue of this 
act. 

Held also, that although the notice served was de- 
fective in not properly stating the place in which the 



416 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

accident occurred, yet that defendant was not misled 
and for that reason the defects did not nullify it. 

Held also, that on each of the issues involved there was 
a fair question of fact and with ample evidence to sus- 
tain the verdict. 

And held that the order setting aside the verdict be 
reversed and motion for new trial denied with costs. 
Heffron v. Lackawanna Steel Co., 121 App. Div. 35. 

159. Plaintiff, a workman in defendant's plaster 
mine, was injured while so employed, a mass of rock and 
other material falling upon him from the roof of the 
mine. He was directed in the work by defendant's 
superintendent who had charge of the work. 

Upon the trial plaintiff's complaint was dismissed 
at the close of plaintiff's case and plaintiff's motion for 
a new trial made upon the minutes was denied and 
plaintiff appealed therefrom. 

Held, in this case that if plaintiff's acts contributed 
to the accident it did not follow that defendant was ab- 
solved from liability, and that if defendant failed in his 
duty to the plaintiff in properly supporting the roof of 
the mine or otherwise failed to take reasonable precau- 
tions for the safety of its workmen, the plaintiff, and 
such neglect upon its part contributed also to the ac- 
cident, and without which the accident would not have 
happened, it might still be liable to the plaintiff for the 
injuries which he received resulting from the accident. 

That the general rule that an employer is required to 
provide his workmen with a reasonably safe place in 
which to work has been supplemented from time to time 
by statutory enactments imposing upon employers 
specific duties for the safety of workmen engaged in 
particular kinds of work. That by the Labor Law Chap. 
415 of 1897, section 122, each owner, agent, manager or 
lessee of a mine shall cause it to be properly timbered, 
and the roof and sides of each working place therein 
properly secured. No person shall be required or per- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 417 

niitted to work in an unsafe place or under dangerous 
materia], except to make it secure. That plaintiff did 
not as a matter of law assume the risk of the insecurity 
of the material which fell from the top of the chamber, 
if the plaintiff was negligent in its duty in failing to 
properly secure the same, and permitted the place where 
the defendant was required to work to become unsafe, 
since there is no presumption that the plaintiff assented 
to any but the necessary risks of his occupation or em- 
ployment, and which were inherent in the nature of the 
business in which he was engaged, after the defendant 
had exercised due care in providing for his safety, and 
had complied with the laws affecting or regulating the 
occupation for the greater safety of the employees en- 
gaged therein. (Laws of 1902, Chap. 600, Sec. 3.) 

Judgment and order reversed and new trial granted. 
Arras v. Standard Plaster Co., 121 App. Div. 61. 

160. Plaintiff brought action to recover for personal 
injuries resulting from defendant's negligence; while 
plaintiff was engaged in moving coal from a pile some 
eight or ten feet high. It had frozen so that a crust had 
been formed on the top, and as the coal was taken from 
the bottom of the pile there was left an overhanging 
crust eight to twelve inches thick, and as the coal below 
was removed the crust was undermined and became 
weakened so that it fell on plaintiff and crushed his leg. 

The action was tried as one under the Employers' 
Liability Act, and the questions of defendant's negli- 
gence, plaintiff's contributory negligence and of as- 
sumed risk were submitted to the jury as questions of 
fact. Plaintiff recovered a verdict of $800. 

The defendant appealed therefrom. 

Held, that from the evidence the jury were authorized 
to find plaintiff free from contributory negligence, and 
that there was no assumption of risk. That as plaintiff 
was under the general superintendence and direction of 
defendant's superintendent who was notified several 



418 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

days before the accident that the overhanging crust was 
dangerous and ought to be removed and promised to look 
after it but failed to do so. 

That while under the common law this may have been 
a detail of the work for which this employer, having 
furnished a competent superintendent to supervise the 
work, would not have been liable but under the Employ- 
ers' Liability Act the duty to remove the crust was upon 
the superintendent, if not the defendant, and the de- 
fendant would be liable for the superintendent's neglect 
of duty, if it was his alone, and not the negligence of 
the defendant primarily. (Laws of 1902, Chap 600, 
Sec. 1.) Sienbida v. Tonawanda Board & Paper Co., 
121 App. Div. 70. 

161. Where the question is whether the failure of 
master to adopt a rule which may prevent an injury is 
the omission of that reasonable care which should from 
the nature of the business have foreseen and anticipated 
its necessity to protect the intestate. The mere absence 
of a rule which, if made and enforced, would have pre- 
vented a casualty, is not enough ; and that the effect of 
such a rule, when taken in connection with the uniform 
tendency of juries to find against railroad companies, 
would be practically to make such companies insurers 
of their employees. Wolfinger v. Brooklyn Heights 
Railroad Co., 121 App. Div. 140. 

162. Plaintiff was closing a window. In the per- 
formance of this duty part of a pane of glass fell out of 
it and cut his arm. It had been cracked for a few weeks ; 
and he obtained judgment for damages. Defendant ap- 
pealed. 

Eeld, that as it was plaintiff's duty to close the 
window daily, it was for him to report to his employer, 
or to some one in authority, if they were in a condition 
dangerous to him, which he never had, and there is no 
evidence that any one did, or that the employer or any 
one in authority knew of the broken pane. Judgment 



THE " LABOR LAW." 419 

reversed. Rockstrow v. Astoria Marble Co., 121 App. 
Div. 141. 

1()3. Plaintiff's intestate was killed by the falling 
of a rock which had been left projecting from the ex- 
plosion of a large blast of giant powder and other high 
explosives in the work of preparing the way for the con- 
struction of a cement wall, and which left the excava- 
tion walis in a rough and uneven condition, the blasted 
rock being cracked in many directions, some portions of 
it projecting beyond the general lines of the wall, and 
it was alleged by plaintiff that the defendants were 
negligent in failing to afford the plaintiff's intestate a 
reasonably safe place in which to work in excavating for 
and constructing the cement wall; but there was no 
evidence to show that he was not fully familiar with all 
the facts connected with the work, or that the place 
originally furnished for him to work in was not as safe 
as the circumstance and the nature of the work per- 
mitted. 

Held, that the mere fact that the place became unsafe 
through the negligence of fellow-servants in failing to 
properly perform a detail of the work which might be 
intrusted to reasonably skillful employees does not im- 
pose a liability upon these defendants. 

Held also, that plaintiff's intestate must be held to 
have assumed the risk incident to the negligence of fel- 
low servants. Judgment and order reversed, new trial 
granted. King v. Ford, 121 App. Div. 401. 

164. Plaintiff recovered a verdict of $2,500, for in- 
juries received while working for defendants, manufac- 
turing chemists, in compounding drugs. His duty was 
to mix or compound drugs, at which business he worked 
for defendants for some four years. He was making 
spirits of phosphorus, a compound of alcohol and phos- 
phorus, when hurt. He had made the same compound 
for defendants several times previously, using a tin can 
kept for the purpose. While his assistant was pouring 



420 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

in the alcohol the vapor of it exploded inside the can 
and plaintiff was burned. 

And the negligence alleged was that the defendant 
should have furnished a glass vessel not a tin one. 

Held, that the case should have been dismissed — that 
plaintiff was as competent to know whether a tin one 
was dangerous as any one, and it was his duty to tell his 
employer that it was dangerous if he knew or believed 
it was. Gozzett v. Plaut, 121 App. Div. 513. 

165. Plaintiff obtained a verdict for |500 for being 
injured in her house near where a contractor was widen- 
ing the railroad tracks of the defendant and appellants ; 
said contractor doing said work under a written con- 
tract with said defendants, exploded dynamite on the 
work, the shock of which caused said injury. The action 
was against both the contractor and the railroad com- 
pany, and the verdict was against both. 

There was no evidence that the railroad company, ap- 
pellants, had anything to do with the dynamite. That 
it was for the necessary use by the contractor. 

Held, that the railroad company, appellants, were not 
liable. 

Held also, that it was error for the trial judge to 
charge in respect to a city ordinance. That it makes it 
unlawful to have or keep dynamite or other explosives 
named, in any place in the city except in magazines 
erected for the purpose according to plans approved by 
the fire commissioners and under a license from the 
mayor, and that the storing of such explosives except 
under such a license is subject to a penalty, and the 
refusal of the trial judge to charge that this ordinance 
did not apply to the case was error, and it only applies 
to the storing of explosives to be taken out and used 
elsewhere, and not to explosives along the line of a work 
for immediate use. Hall v. N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co., 
121 App. Div. 488. 

166. Plaintiff, an engineer in the employ of defend- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 421 

ant a railroad company, recovered a verdict for injuries 
by the derailing of the train of which he was the engi- 
neer, a fast express in his charge, caused by a switch con- 
nection and crossover with the main passenger track on 
which plaintiff's train was running at high speed not 
being set or locked for the main track but for the cross- 
ing, and it was claimed by plaintiff that it was by reason 
of the neglect or omission of the defendant to enact and 
promulgate some rule that if executed would have pre- 
vented such an accident. That being the question which 
was submitted to the jury. 

Held, that negligence could not be imputed to the de- 
fendant upon the sole ground that it failed to adopt the 
same method for operating its road at the point in ques- 
tion that some other roads had in use. That before it 
could be said that the plan of the other roads was the 
safest it would have to be known that the conditions 
were the same, and that the result of experience was in 
favor of that method. That so long as the defendant 
maintained a safe roadbed, rails and switches, employed 
competent co-servants and had enacted reasonable rules 
for guarding and protecting the crossover and main 
tracks by the use of semaphores and signals, indicating 
plainly whether there was danger or safety, it discharged 
its whole duty to its employees. That even if it could 
be seen or found as a fact that the method in use by the 
other railroads mentioned in the record w r as better or 
safer, the master is not guilty of negligence for not dis- 
carding a plan which was reasonably safe, and had 
proved to be so as the result of long experience. That 
on the main issue in the case which was the defendant's 
negligence in its failure to promulgate some other rule 
or plan of operating trains at the crossing, there was no 
evidence to submit to the jury. 

Judgment reversed. New trial granted. Pearsall v. 
N. Y. C. & H. R. R, R. Co., 189 N. Y. 474. Reversing 
112 App. Div. 904. 



422 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

167. Plaintiff was in the employ of defendant and 
sustained injuries by alleged negligence of defendant or 
its superintendent and notice of the injury was given to 
the defendant under the Employers' Liability Act. He 
recovered a verdict of f 6,500, from which defendant ap- 
pealed. Plaintiff was a skilled laborer working at what 
was called a " rubbing bed." The defendant's superin- 
tendent ordered him to cut down a stone about four feet 
square and sixteen inches thick. Plaintiff selected the 
point at which to drill the holes and drilled them, and 
while he was examining the stone it fell causing the in- 
juries for which he recovered in the action. The re- 
covery was upon the theory that it was negligence for 
the superintendent to direct that these holes be placed 
anywhere except in the center between the corners. 

Held, that taking all the evidence together it is im- 
possible to say whether the stone broke away entirely 
from over the hole in which one of the dogs was placed, 
or for some reason, caused by the swaying of the stone, 
or the pushing of the stone by the plaintiff, one of the 
dogs slipped out, But accepting either of these reasons 
for the accident, it cannot be said that the accident re- 
sulted from any negligence of the defendant or its super- 
intendent. 

Held also, that the negligence sufficient to charge an 
employer must be proved either by direct evidence or 
the proof of fact from which the inference of negligence 
can be legitimately drawn by the jury. It cannot be 
supported by mere conjecture or surmise, but must be 
made referrable by the proof to some specific cause or 
defect. Judgment reversed and new trial ordered. 
McCarthy v. Norcross Brothers Co., Nov. 1907, 121 App. 
Div. 775. 

168. Plaintiff was one of a gang of men employed by 
defendant in cutting steel rail. The foreman was hold- 
ing the cold chisel and plaintiff was several feet away 
steadying the rail, when a sliver of steel flew from the 



THE " LABOR LAW." 423 

head of the hammer or chisel or from the rail and hit 
plaintiff in the eye resulting in its loss. The method 
was the usual and most effective way of cutting the rail. 
Plaintiff obtained a verdict of $600 from which de- 
fendant appealed. 

Held, that if an accident occurs to an employee from 
the ordinary use of a simple instrument or contrivance 
and one which the master even by the exercise of reason- 
able caution could not have anticipated, he is not liable 
for the injuries sustained; and the accident in this case 
falls within that category. Fansani v. N. Y. C. & H. R. 
R. R. Co., 109 App. Div. 404. Affirmed by Court of Ap- 
peals, Nov. 19, 1907, 190 N. Y. Mem. 

169. Plaintiff obtained a verdict of $5,000, against 
defendant for personal injuries sustained through the 
alleged negligence of defendant. The defendant was 
engaged in the construction of a factory and plaintiff 
was employed by the defendant and directed to report to 
the foreman at the building, and went to work on a 
scaffold aiding in putting up a thin oak covering known 
as facia, and was directed by the foreman to go to an- 
other part of the scaffold to aid two other men who were 
taking down some of the work, when a section of the 
facia was released from the ceiling and the plank of 
the scaffolding on which plaintiff was standing broke, 
precipitating him to the floor and he sustained injuries 
for which the recovery was had. 

Held, that under the provisions of the Labor Law sec- 
tions 18, 19, as amd. by laws of 1899, chap. 192, the neg- 
ligence of the defendant was shown sufficiently to justify 
the verdict, and the evidence in the case as to the detail 
of the work, by means of which it was attempted to be 
established that the defendant's foreman had been guilty 
of negligence in the construction of the scaffolding was 
not necessary. 

Held also, that the theory of the plaintiff was that his 
case came within the provisions of the Employers' Lia- 



424 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

bility Act and in support of this cause of action he in- 
troduced in evidence, over the objection and exception 
of the defendant, a copy of a notice served upon the de- 
fendant, and the question involved is a sufficiency of 
such notice. 

The statute (Laws of 1902, chap. 600, section 2) pro- 
vides that no action for the recovery of damages for 
personal injuries shall be maintained unless notice of 
the time, place and cause of the injury is given to the 
employer within one hundred and twenty days — after 
the occurrence of the accident causing the injury or 
death. This notice is required to be in writing and the 
notice introduced in evidence and found in the record 
does not state the cause of the injury within the letter 
or spirit of the statute. That in an action at common 
law there is no occasion for giving any notice whatever, 
except in actions against municipal corporations. That 
the notice in this case does not give the employer any 
information of the cause of the injury which would im- 
pose liability under the Employ ers' Liability Act, and 
that in order to permit the bringing of an action under 
the statute the notice should be sufficient to apprise the 
defendant that liability is claimed because of the statute 
and under its provisions. That the notice should have 
informed the defendant of the claim of negligence on 
the part of its foreman or superintendent. And, 

Held, that it was error to admit the notice over de- 
fendant's objection. 

Judgment and order appealed from reversed and new 
trial granted. Barry v. Derby Desk Co., Nov. 1907, 121 
App. Div. 810. 

170. Plaintiff sustained injuries through alleged 
negligence of defendant, on the theory that defendant 
was liable because of a violation of section 18 of Chapter 
415 of 1897, known as the Labor Law, was nonsuited at 
the trial and on appeal claimed upon the further ground 
that the case came within the provisions of the Em- 



THE " LABOR LAW." 425 

ployers' Liability Act (Laws of 1902, chap. 600) be- 
cause of the fact that the plaintiff alleged he gave the 
notice required by such act within one hundred and 
twenty days of the happening of the accident, but the 
case as pleaded and as the pleading stood when the 
motion to dismiss the complaint was granted did not 
allege the facts necessary to bring the case within any 
of the provisions of the Employers' Liability Act. 

Held, that the rule is well settled that where the 
action depends upon a statute, the plaintiff must by 
pleading and proof bring the action within the terms 
and conditions of the statute. 

That the question presented by the appeal was 
whether this scaffolding, erected by the plaintiff and 
others, under the supervision of the defendant's foreman, 
comes within the legislative intention, and makes the 
defendant liable because it fell and produced plaintiff's 
injuries. 

Held, that section 18 of the Labor Law is given this 
legitimate effect when the employee is given a cause of 
action for the neglect of the master in furnishing a safe 
scaffold, where it is the duty of the master to furnish 
such scaffold. 

Held also, that plaintiff not having pleaded the Em- 
ployers' Liability Act, or the facts necessary to consti- 
tute a cause of action under such act, the fact that the 
person who had charge of this work w r as a foreman and 
exercised the powers of a superintendent has nothing to 
do with the case. That he was a fellow-servant of the 
plaintrff and they were engaged in the details of the 
work. That what the legislature had in mind was scaf- 
folding on buildings or structures where its use was 
obviously dangerous to life and limb of an employee 
thereon in case of a fall; and that the plaintiff in this 
case was not within the spirit of the act and nonsuit was 
properly granted. Sutherland v. Ammann, 112 App. 



426 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS 

Div. 332. Affirmed by the Court of Appeals, November 
19, 1907, 190 N. Y. Mem. 

171. In an action brought by servant against master 
for negligence. Plaintiff was at work as a bricklayer 
in a building in course of construction and was struck 
by a falling thing from the upper part of the building 
and injured. The alleged negligence is that the master 
failed to furnish a safe and proper place for the servant 
to work in ; that the servant was put to work in a place 
not properly protected against the fall of such things. 

The trial court declared the jury to charge as re- 
quested, that the master is never the insurer of the 
safety of an employee on a building. 

Held, that as the court had already charged the jury 
that it was the duty of the master to give the employee a 
safe place to work in, it cannot be said that the effect of 
such a charge was not to instruct the jury that the 
master was held to a higher rule of liability than that 
imposed upon him by law, and for these reasons judg- 
ment reversed and new trial ordered. Wood v. Burke & 
Son, 121 App. Div. 542. 

172. Plaintiff was employed by defendant working 
in a railroad yard where many men were at work, and 
he with a gang of men under the direction of a foreman 
who was leading the men from one place to another to 
do some work, and directed them to go between two 
cars standing near together in order to cross a track. 
Plaintiff hesitated and looked to see if the car towards 
the direction from which the cars were kicked might 
move, but the foreman told him to go ahead which he 
did, and the car did come down against the other car. 
His arm was caught and had to be amputated. 

Held, that the act of the foreman in directing and 
hurrying the plaintiff between the cars when a car was 
being kicked down that track was an act of superin- 
tendence, and it was for the jury to say if it was not 
negligent. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 42T 

Held also, that such negligence would be the negli- 
gence of the master applied to the case, the action being 
brought under the Employers' Liability Act, and was a 
question of fact for the jury. Onesti v. Central N. E. 
Railway Co., 121 App. Div. 554. 

173. Plaintiff worked for defendant in its glucose 
factory as an oiler of machinery and set up a ladder in 
the factory to oil some shafting about fifteen feet high 
from the floor and was at work at the top of the ladder. 
Three men who could not understand English were push- 
ing a car in the usual way carrying sugar cakes. They 
pushed it against the ladder knocking it down and plain- 
tiff was injured. Plaintiff saw them coming when about 
twenty-five feet away from the ladder and called out to 
them to stop, and another employee saw them when they 
were several feet away from the ladder and called out 
in the same way, to which they paid no heed. 

Held, that plaintiff was injured by the negligence of 
his fellow-servants, and that even if the three men were 
not competent or fit servants for the work for the reason 
that they were foreigners and could not understand 
English, it was not negligence or breach of duty on the 
part of defendant to employ them to do such simple 
work as pushing a car; and the fact that they did not 
know the meaning of the words " stop," " look out " and 
" ladder " may or may not have caused the accident. 
Yet the defendant could not have anticipated such an 
accident from such a cause and that is the test of its 
negligence or breach of duty in putting them at such 
work. Date v. N. Y. Glucose Co., 114 App. Div. 789. 
Affirmed by Court of Appeals, November 19, 1907, 190 
N. Y. Mem. 

174. Where the certificate required by section 70 of 
the Labor Law was obtained from the Board of Health 
but was not filed with the defendant. Plaintiff's counsel 
insisted that the failure to file such certificate consti- 



428 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

tuted presumptive negligence, no matter how the plain- 
tiff, a boy between fourteen and sixteen, got hurt. 

Held, that the failure to comply with the provisions of 
the Labor Law must have had something to do with the 
accident to be some evidence of negligence; that the 
failure must have been the proximate cause of the injury 
or a contributing cause, or it must appear that but for 
the noncompliance with the statute the accident might 
not have happened. That there was no such connection 
between the failure to file the certificate and the ac- 
cident in this case. That when the plaintiff has passed 
the examination provided and is of certified capacity, 
having obtained the health board's written approval, he 
can legally work in any factory, and that the filing of 
the certificate being a detail required for other purposes 
than to legalize his employment. And that the failure 
to file cannot be connected with the acident so as to be 
evidence of negligence. 

That section 81 when considered presents a different 
question. 

That the Labor Law does not require the board of 
health to give a certificate if a child is under fourteen 
or over sixteen, but it requires a certificate to be ob- 
tained by children between those ages before they can be 
employed in a factory. 

That whatever may be proved for or against him, the 
liability is not absolute by the mere employment of a 
child under age, and his negligence in such case is a 
question for the jury. Schmidt v. Bruen, 56 Misc. 130. 

175. The Employers' Liability Act (chap. 600 of 
1902) must be construed to create a liability against the 
employer for the acts of the superintendent only when 
he is engaged in an act of superintending. Lowrey v. 
Huntington Light & Power Co., 121 App. Div. 245. 



THE " LABOR LAW." 429 



PLUMBING AND DRAINAGE. 

176. Where application was made under the provi- 
sions of article 3 of Chap. 327 of 1900, for writ of man- 
damus, requiring the City of Geneva to appoint an ex- 
amining board of plumbers of that city as required by 
law. 

Held, that the provisions of said city law are manda- 
tory and not merely directory. That the regulation and 
control of the plumbers and plumbing of the city is a 
great importance in order to preserve the public health. 
But 

Held, that an alternative writ of mandamus and not 
a peremptory one should issue. People ex rel Van 
Deren v. Moore, 78 App. Div. 28. 

177. Where one member of a firm was not a licensed 
plumber and the question was whether the firm could 
recover for work done under Chap. 803 of 1896, which 
applies to the City of New York only, and that act was 
declared by the Court of Appeals unconstitutional. 

O'Brien,, J., in the prevailing opinion distinguished 
Chap. 327 of 1900 sections 40-57, saying that the latter 
statute differs but little from Chap. 602 of 1892, which 
was held by the Court of Appeals in People ex rel. Nec- 
hamcus v. Warden, etc., 144 N. Y. 529, to be constitu- 
tional as an exercise of the police power for the protec- 
tion of health, and that there is nothing in either of 
them that would prevent the plaintiff from recovering 
in the case; but that it was the act of 1896 alone that 
stood in the way of plaintiff's right of recovery, as by 
the first section of that act it is made unlawful for any 
copartnership to engage in or carry on the trade, busi- 
ness or calling of employing or master plumber unless 
the name and address of each and every member of the 
firm shall have been registered. See Schnaier v. Na- 
varre Hotel & Importation Co., 182 N. Y. 83. 



430 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

178. Chap. 620 of 1892 providing for the examina- 
tion and registration of master plumbers etc., was held 
constitutional. 144 N. Y. 529. 

That an indictment and conviction for a violation of 
the act was proper. 

The last above act was repealed by the Plumbers' Act 
of 1900, Chap. 327. 



Laws of 1896, chap. 803, which Applies to the City of New 
York. Unconstitutional. Plumbers.— 



179. In an action to recover for plumbing work by a 
firm of two partners, one of whom was not licensed or 
registered as required by this law, which made it unlaw- 
ful for any co-partnership to engage in or carry on the 
trade, business or calling of employing or master 
plumbers, unless the name and address of each and 
every member of the firm had been registered, and in 
order to be registered it was necessary to hold a certifi- 
cate of competency from the examining board of plumb- 
ers of the city. 

Held, that such statute was not a valid law for the 
reason that it was in conflict with constitutional restric- 
tions. Both the Federal and State constitution which 
provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty 
or property without due process of law. 

O'Brien, J., in the prevailing opinion, among other 
things says, " the right to follow any lawful pursuit is 
one of the inalienable rights of a citizen of the United 
States, and a law which prevents or hinders a man from 
going into partnership with another for the purpose of 
carrying on the trade, business or calling of employing 
or master plumbers, infringes his natural rights as 
secured by the Constitution. There is no more sacred 
right of citizenship than the right to pursue unmolested 
a lawful employment in a lawful manner. It is nothing 
more or less than the sacred right of labor. All laws, 
therefore, which impair or trammel these rights, which 



THE "LABOR LAW." 431 

limit one in his choice of a trade or profession, or con- 
fine him to work or live in a specified locality, or ex- 
clude him from his house or restrain his otherwise law- 
ful movements, are infringements upon his fundamental 
rights of liberty, which are under constitutional protec- 
tion. The common business and callings of life, the or- 
dinary trades and pursuits which are innocent in them- 
selves, and have been followed in all communities from 
time immemorial, must, therefore, be free in this coun- 
try to all alike upon the same terms. The liberty of 
pursuit, the right to follow any of the ordinary callings 
of life, is one of the privileges of a citizen of the United 
States." 

The recent case of Lochner v. State of New York, 
(198 U. S. 45) is far reaching in its scope and effect. 
The principle that the individual right to make con- 
tracts in relation to business is a part of that liberty 
protected by the Constitution was asserted and main- 
tained, and a statute of this state which made it a penal 
offense for a master to permit his servant to work more 
than ten hours in the day has been held to be in conflict 
with that right, and was, therefore, unconstitutional 
and void. That case amply vindicates the right of the 
individual to freedom in the conduct of any legitimate 
business and his right to make contracts concerning the 
same. 

That the statute in question in this case operates to 
prohibit two persons, situated as the firm in this case 
was, to enter into partnership for conducting a legiti- 
mate business. 

The right to form partnership for the conduct of 
business has existed from time immemorial and any in- 
terference with that right must be regarded as an un- 
warranted interference with individual freedom con- 
demned by the Constitution. The feature of the statute 
to which I have referred would deprive a firm engaged in 
the plumbing business, composed of half a dozen persons, 
from enforcing contracts and collecting their bills for 



432 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

work done unless they could show that each and every 
member of the firm was a registered plumber, and if, as 
in this case, it was impossible for one of them to become 
registered, the firm must dissolve. A law that produces 
such results in its operation cannot be valid. It is not 
within any reasonable or proper exercise of the police 
power, since a provision for the registration of one or 
more members of the firm who were skilled plumbers to 
act for the firm, would be a sufficient protection to the 
public from all the dangers that the legislation was sup- 
posed to prevent or mitigate. Schnaier v. Navarre 
Hotel & Importation Co., 182 N. Y. 83, reversing 82 
App. Div. 25. 



THE "LABOR LAW." 433 



EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. 

180. Chap. 432 of 1904, entitled " An act to regulate 
the keeping of Employment Agencies in the cities of the 
first and second class where fees are charged for pro- 
curing employment or situation. 

Held, not in conflict with the fourteenth amendment 
of the Federal Constitution, and to be well settled in 
this court and in the Federal Court that the equality 
within the contemplation of the fourteenth amendment 
does not necessarily include a territorial equality, and 
that .legislation which, though limited in the sphere of 
its operations, affect alike all persons similarly situated 
within such sphere, is valid. 

Held also, that criminal laws are not necessarily un- 
constitutional even if they bear unequally upon per- 
sons in different parts of the state. That the evil which 
the legislature may have in view in passing such laws 
may exist only in the great cities of the state, and have 
no existence in rural districts. 

Held also, that the objection made by the relator to 
the validity of the statute that it interferes with the re- 
lator's right to carry on a lawful business without being 
hampered by statutory regulations. That while cases 
are abundant which hold that the individual has the 
right to carry on any lawful business, or earn his living 
in any lawful way, and that the legislature lias no right 
to interfere with the freedom of action in that respect 
or otherwise place restraint upon his movements, are 
all cases which must be understood as applying to laws 
that are not within the police power. That if the 
statute comes fairly within the scope of the police power 
it is a valid law, although it may interfere, in some 
respects, with the liberty of the citizen, which of course 
includes his right to follow any lawful employment. 
That a statute to promote the public health, the public 
safety or to secure public order or for the prevention 



434 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

or suppression of fraud is a valid law, although it may, 
in some respects, interfere with individual freedom. 
That all business and occupations are conducted subject 
to the exercise of the police power. Individual freedom 
must yield to regulations for the public good, and it may 
be laid down as a general principle that legislation is 
valid which has for its object the promotion of the 
public health, safety, morals, convenience and general 
welfare or the prevention of fraud or immorality. And 
such is the character of the statute in question. It was 
intended to regulate employment agencies in cities. 
That the legislature had the right to take notice of the 
fact that such agencies or place where emigrants and 
ignorant people frequently resort to obtain employment 
and procure information. The relations of a person 
so consulting an agency of this character with the man- 
agers or persons conducting it are such as to afford 
great opportunities for fraud and oppression, and the 
statute in question was for the purpose of preventing 
such fraud and probably for the suppression of immoral- 
ity, for it is a valid law. People ex rel. Armstrong v. 
Warden etc., 183 N. Y. 223, affirming 107 App. Div. 617. 



THE ''LABOR LAW." 435 



THE UNITED STATES EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY 

LAW. 

Declared unconstitutional. 

Chapter 3073, approved June 11, 1906. 

(An act relating to liability of common carriers in the 
District of Columbia and Territories and common 
carriers engaged in commerce between the States 
and bet treat the States and foreign nations to their 
emjiloi/ccs.) 

181. This act provides that such common carriers 
shall be liable to any of its employees, or, in case of 
death, to his personal representative for the benefit of 
his widow and children, if any; if none, then for his 
parents; if none, then for his next of kin dependent 
upon him, for all damages resulting from the negligence 
of any of its officers, agents or employees, or by reason 
of any defect or insufficiency due to its negligence in its 
cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, 
ways or works. That in all actions therefor, the fact 
that the employee may have been guilty of contributory 
negligence shall not bar a recovery where his contribu- 
tory negligence was slight and that of the employer was 
gross in comparison, but the damages shall be diminished 
by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence at- 
tributable to such employee. All questions of negligence 
and contributory negligence shall be for the jury. But 
such action is required to be commenced within one year 
from the time the cause of action accrued. 

There were two cases argued together in the Supreme 
Court of the United States being numbers 216 and 222, 
at the October Term, 1907; one being the case of Howard 
v. Illinois Central Railroad and the other Brooks v. 
The Southern Pacific Company, and because of t heir 
unitv were considered at the same time. 



436 LABOR, LAWS AND DECISIONS. 

The opinion of the court in the ease was delivered 
January 6, 1908, by Mr. Justice White, in which Mr. 
Justice Day concurs, Chief Justice Fuller and Justice 
Brewer and Peckham concurring in the result. 

Justice Moody dissented. Justice Harlan and Mc- 
Kenna united in an opinion affirming the constitutional- 
ity of the act but held it to be applicable only to em- 
ployees engaged at the time in interstate commerce. 
Justice Holmes also dissented in a brief opinion. 

The court thus standing five to four against the con- 
stitutionality of the law, the majority of the court de- 
ciding said law to be unconstitutional because it goes 
beyond the bounds permitted in the regulation of Inter- 
State commerce and that it assumes that because one 
engages in Inter-State commerce he thereby endows 
Congress with power not delegated to it by the Consti- 
tution, in other words, with the right to legislate con- 
cerning matters of purely State concern. It rests upon 
the conception that the Constitution destroyed that 
freedom of commerce which it was its purpose to pre- 
serve, since it treats the right to engage in interstate 
commerce as a privilege which cannot be availed of ex- 
cept upon such conditions as Congress may prescribe, 
even although the conditions would be otherwise be- 
yond the power of Congress. It is apparent that if the 
contention were well founded it would intend the power 
of Congress to every conceivable subject, however in- 
herently local, would obliterate all the limitations of 
power imposed by the Constitution, and would destroy 
the authority of the States as to all conceivable matters 
which from the beginning have been, and must continue 
to be, under their control so long as the constitution 
endures. 

That while it embraces subjects within the authority 
of Congress to regulate commerce, also includes sub- 
jects not within its constitutional power, and that the 
two are so interblended in the statute that they are 



THE "LABOR LAW." 437 

incapable of separation, and that the courts below 
rightly held the statute to be repugnant to the Consti- 
tution and non-enforeible. 

Mr. Justice Peckhain concurring, saying: 

" I concur in the result of the foregoing opinion, but 
I am not prepared to agree with all that is stated as to 
the power of Congress to legislate upon the subject of 
the relations between master and servant. 

I concur in the proposition, that as to traffic or other 
matters within the State, the act is unconstitutional, 
and it cannot be separated from that part which is 
claimed to be valid as relating to interstate commerce. 
As that is all that is necessary to decide in this case, I 
place my concurrence upon that part of the opinion 
Avhich decides it. 

I am authorized to state that the Chief Justice and 
Mr. Justice Brewer agree in this view." 



INDEX TO LAWS. 



PAGE 

Accidents in factories to be reported , . . . 31, 178 

Accidents in mines to be reported 48, 197-198 

Act to create department of labor, repealed 204 

Admission of inspectors to mines 48, 197-198 

Agencies, Regulation of employment 92-97, 227-244 

Alterations in bakeries, etc., Notice requiring 44 

Altering articles in tenements 34, 183-188 

Annual report 202 

Apparatus at mines, Inspection of 47, 195-196 

Application of Article as to horsehoers, (Labor Law) 60 

Application of Article as to mercantile establishments 50 

Application of article as to norseshoers (repealed) 220 

Arbitration and mediation, Bureau of 73, 201 

Aibitration by the Board 202 

Article I, Labor Law to be enforced by Comm. of Labor 13 

Assembling of persons, etc. , When legal 62 

Assignment of future wages, etc 7 

B 

Badge and permit for newsboys 57-59, 214-215-216-217 

Badge and permit for newsboys, Contents of 58, 214-215-216-217 

Badge and permit of newsboys to be surrendered 58, 216-219 

Bakeries, confectionery establishments 42-44 

Bakeries, Alterations in 44 

Bakeries, Closets and wash-rooms in 43 

Bakeries, Drainage and plumbing in 42 

Bakeries, Inspection of . 43, 192 

Bakeries, Requirements in 43 

Bakeries, Sleeping places in 43 

Bartering Act (Laws of 1903, Chapter 632) 85-90 

Bartering Act (Laws of 1903, Chap. 632) repealed by Chap. 256 

of 1906 85-90 

Bartering, Sunday, (Chapter 823, Laws of 1895) 90, 226-227 

Blasting in mines 47, 196 

Blocks, Inspection of, in cities 11 

Board of Mediation and Arbitration 201 

439 



440 INDEX TO LAWS. 

PAGE 

Boilers, etc. , at mines, Inspection of 47, 195 

Boilers, Inspection of, in factories 32 

Bribery of labor representatives 70 

Brick -yards, Hours of labor in 5 

Bureaus of department of labor 73 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 155-157 

Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration 49, 200 

Bureaus of department of labor repealed 204 

C 

Cars, Riding on in mines 46, 195 

Cash payment of wages 6, 148-149 

Ceilings and walls in factories 30 

Chief mediator. . . 200 

Child Labor, (Consolidated School Law) 83, 225-226 

Children, Employment of in mercantile establishments 51, 204-205 

Children, Employment of in street trades 57, 214-220 

Cities, act in relation to 249 

Cities of first class, Free employment "bureaus in 16-17, 227-244 

Closets and wash-rooms in bakeries , 43, 227-244 

Code of Civil Procedure. 71 

Coercion of employers . 62 

Coram, of Labor Deputies 73 

Coram, of Labor, Duties and powers of, (under Section 2, page 

72) 74-79 

Coram, of Labor, Failure to furnish statistics to 66 

Comm. of Labor, Office of created 72, 150-154 

Comm. of Labor, To enforce Article I, Labor Law 13, 150-154 

Comm. of Labor, act repealed 204 

Comm. of Labor statistics, repealed 204 

Comm. of Labor, duties and powers of, (under section 2, page 72) 

repealed . . 204 

Comm. of Labor, failure to furnish statistics to, repealed by Chap. 

506 of 1907 220 

Commodities exposed for sale on Sunday 64-65 

Confectionery establishments 42-44 

Consent ; oath ; powers of arbitrators 203 

Conspiracy defined , . 62 

Contents of certificate, copy of Article XI to be posted 56 

Contents of permit and badge for newsboys 58, 216-218 

Convict-made goods, Labeling and marking of 19 

Convict-made goods, License for sale of 18 

Convict-made goods, Unlawful dealing in 66 

Copy of articles to be posted 41, 189-190 

D 

Dangerous condition of mines, Notice of 48, 197 

Day's labor, Hours to constitute * 3, 143-145 



INDEX TO LAWS. 441 

PAGE 

Decisions in Relation to Labor Laws.— See Contents Page. 

Decisions of Arbitrator 203 

Decisions of Board 202 

Definitions 2 

Department of Commissioners of Labor, repealed 204 

Department of Labor, Bureau of 73 

Department of Labor created 72, 151-154 

Department of Labor, repealed 204 

Department of Labor, assignment of inspectors 248 

Deputy Coniins. of Labor 73 

Domestic Relation Law 247 

Doors and stairs in factories 28 

Drainage and plumbing in Bakeries 42, 190-192 

Duties and power of Comm. of Labor. 74-79, 45-193 

E 

Elevator shafts, Enclosure of 27 

Elevator shafts, Inspection of 27 

Employee, Definition of 2 

Employer, Definition of 2 

Employer's Liability Act 80-83 

Employees operating machines, Protection of 28 

Employees, Scaffolding for use of 10 

Employment agencies, Regulation of 92-97, 154-157, 227-244 

Employment agencies, cities of first class 227-238 

Employment agencies, cities of the second class 238-244 

Employment agencies, regulation of, repealed 154 

Employment certificate 23, 159-166 

Employment certificate, how issued in mercantile establishments. 

51, 53, 205-212 

Employment of women and children in mines or quarry 199 

Employment bureaus, Free public, No fees to be charged by. ... 68 

Employment of children in mercantile establishments 51, 205 

Employment of children in street trades prohibited. . . 57, 214-215-216-217 

Employment of minors 23, 159-166 

Employment of persons upon public work. Preference in 7 

Employment of women and children at polishing, etc 33 

Employment of women and children in basements ... 55 

Endangering life by refusing to labor 70 

Enforcement, of Article XT 56 

Enforcement of article as to mines 48, 197 

Escapes on factories, Fire 29 

Examination of horseshoers 60 

Examination of horseshoers, repealed 220 

Examining board of plumbers in cities 249-256 

Explosives in mines, Use of 47, 196 

F 
Factories 23-159 



44:2 INDEX TO LAWS. 

PAGE 

Factories, Accidents to be reported in „ 31, 178 

Factories, Ceilings and walls in 30 

Factories, Inspection of 32, 157-159 

Factories, Inspection of Boilers in 32 

Factories, Size of rooms in 30 

Factories, Stairs and doors in 28 

Factories, Time allowed for meals in 32 

Factories, Ventilation of 31, 177 

Factories, Wash-rooms and water-closets in 31, 179 

Factory, Definition of 2 

Factory, inspection, Bureau of 73 

Factory, inspection, Bureau of, repealed 204 

Failure to comply with requirements in mines and quarries 66, 221 

Factory inspector office repealed 204 

Failure to furnish seats for female employees 68 

Failure to furnish statistics to the Comm. of Labor 66 

Failure to furnish statistics to the Comm. of Labor, repealed 204 

Female employees, Seats for 10 

Finishing articles in tenements 34, 183-188 

Fire escapes in factories 29 

Floors, Neglect to complete 69 

Forfeiture of commodities exposed for sale on Sunday 64-65 

Fraudulent representations in Labor Organizations 71 

Free employment bureaus in first class cities 16-17, 154-157 

Free public employment bureaus, no fees to be charged by 68 

Future wages, Assignment of 7 

G 

Goods unlawfully manufactured to be labeled 39, 188-189 

H 

Half Holidays 79 

Hoisting shafts, Enclosure of . . 27 

Hoisting shafts, Inspection of 27 

Holidays 79 

Horseshoers, Illegal practice of 69 

Horseshoers, illegal practice of, repealed 220 

Horseshoers, Application of Article as to 60 

Horseshoers, Application of article as to, repealed 220 

Horseshoers, Board of examiners of 60 

Horseseoers, Board of examiners of, repealed 220 

Horseshoers, Examination of 60 

Horseshoers, Examination of, repealed 220 

Horseshoers, Practice without examination 61 

Horseshoers, Practice without examination, repealed 220 

Horseshoers, Registration of 61 

Horseshoers, Registration of, repealed 220 

Hours limited for newsboys 59, 219 



INDEX TO LAWS. 443 

PAGE 

Hours of labor, block system, etc 146-147 

Hours of labor in bakeries and confectioneries 42 

Hours of labor in brick -yards 5 

Hours of labor of minors 26, 169-175 

Hours of labor of minors, Change of 27, 174 

Hours of labor of minors in mercantile establishments 50, 204 

Hours of labor on steam surface and elevated railroads 5, 145 

Hours of labor on street surface and elevated railroads .. . 5, 145 

Hours of labor to be required (general) 67, 221 

Hours to constitute day's labor 3, 143-145 

I 

Illegal practice of horseshoeing 69 

Illegal practice of horseshoeing, repealed 220 

Illegal use of labels, etc., A misdemeanor, etc 9 

Inflammable supplies, Storage of, in mines 46, 195 

Insecure scaffolding, Negligently furnishing 69 

Inspection of apparatus at mines 47, 195 

Inspection of bakeries 43, 192 

Inspection of boilers in factories 32 

Inspection of elevators and hoisting shafts 27 

Inspection of factories 32, 157-159 

Inspection of mines 45-48, 193-194 

Inspection of scaffolds, ropes, blocks, pulleys and tackles 11 

Inspectors of steam vessels 248 

Inspectors, Admission of, to mines 48, 197-198 

L 

Labeling and marking of convict-made goods 19 

Labels, brands, etc. , used by Labor Organizations 9 

Labels, Illegal use of, a misdemeanor ... 9 

Labor, Child, (Consolidated School Law) 83, 225-226 

Labor, Department of, created 72 

Labor, Department of, created, repealed 204 

Labor, Endangering life by refusing to. 70 

Laborer's preference over contractors 71 

Labor, Hours of ('general) 67, 221 

Labor, Hours of, in bakeries and confectioneries (Unconstitutional) 42 

Labor, Hours of, in brick-yards 5 

Labor, Hours of, minors in mercantile establishments 50, 204 

Labor, Hours of, minors 26 

Labor, Hours of, on steam surface and elevated railroads 5, 145 

Labor, Hours of, on street surface and elevated railroads 5, 145 

Labor Law, Violations of , 4 

Labor Law, Violations of provisions of, (Penal Code) 68, 222-223 

Labor offices abolished 72 

Labor offices abolished, repealed 204 

Labor organizations, Fraudulent representations in 71 



444 INDEX TO LAWS. 

PAGE 

Labor representatives, Bribery of 70 

Labor statistics, Bureau of . . . . , " 73 

Labor statistics, Bureau of, repealed 204 

Labor, Sunday 63-66 

Laundries 33 

Laws of 1901, chap. 9, repealed . . 204 

Legal, Assembling of persons when ; . . . 62 

Lenders of money on salaries of employees 91 

Liability Act, Employers' 80-83 

License for sale of convict made goods 18 

Limit of hours of newsboys 59, 216-219 

Lunch rooms in mercantile establishments , 55 

M 

Machine operators, Protection of 28, 175 

Manufactures on Sunday 64 

Manufacturing articles in tenements •. 34, 183-188 

Meals, time allowed for in factories 32 

Mechanical employment on Sunday 64 

Mediation and arbitration, Bureau of 73 

Mediation and arbitration, Bureau of, repealed 204 

Mediation and investigation 201 

Mercantile establishments, Definition of , 2 

Mercantile establishments, Employment of children in 51, 205 

Mercantile establishments, Enforcement of article as to 56 

Mercantile establishments, Lunch rooms in 55 

Mercantile establishments, Seats for women in 55 

Mercantile establishments, Wash-rooms and water-closets in 54 

Mercantile establishments, Women and children in basements of . . 55 

Method of exploding blast 200 

Mines, Admission of inspectors to 48, 197-198 

Mines and their inspection 45-48, 193-194 

Mines and quarries, Failure to comply with requirements 66 

Mines and quarries, Refusal to admit inspector to 66, 221 

Mines and tunnels to be equipped with wash-rooms 200 

Mines, Blasting and use of explosives in 47, 196 

Mines, Enforcement of article as to 48, 197 

Mines, Inspection of boilers and apparatus at 47, 195 

Mines, Notice of dangerous condition of 48, 197 

Mines, Outlet of 46, 194 

Mines, Report of accidents in 48, 197, 198 

Mines, Riding on loaded cars in 46, 195 

Mines, Storage of inflammable supplies in. . 46, 105 

Mines, Ventilation and timbering of 46, 195 

Minors, Change of hours of labor of 27, 174 

Minors, Employment of 23, 159-166 

Minors, Hours of labor of, in mercantile establishments 50, 205 

Minors, Hours of labor of 26, 169-175 

Money-lenders on salaries of employees 91 

Municipal works, Stone used in 8 



INDEX TO LAWS. 445 

PAG3 

N 

Negligently furnishing insecure scaffolding 69 

Neglect to complete floors 69 

Newsboys, Limit of hours of . . 59, 216-219 

Newsboys, Permit and badge for 57, 59-214-215-216-217 

Newsboys, Violation of article as to 59. 215-216 

Notice of dangerous condition of mines 48, 197-198 

Notice of opening new mine, shaft or quarry 198-199 

Notice of abandonment 199 

Notice requiring alterations in bakeries 44 

O 

Offices abolished, repealed 204 

Offices of Comm. of Labor created 72 

Offices of Comm. of Labor created, repealed 204 

Offices abolished 72 

Offices of Deputy Comm. of Labor created 73 

Offices of Deputy Comm. of Labor created, repealed 204 

Organizations, Fraudulent representation in labor 71 

Organizations, Labels, brands, etc. , used by labor 9 

Outlet of mines 46, 194 

Owners of tenements liable , 40 

P 

Payment of wages 67 

Payment of wages by receivers 6 

Payment of wages to be cash 6, 148-149 

Payment of wages to minor, valid 247 

Penal Code 62-70 

Penalty for violations of sections 8-10, Labor Law 7 

Permit and badge for newsboys 57, 59-214-215-216-217 

Permit and badge for newsboys, Contents of 58, 214-215-216-217 

Permit and badge for newsboys, how issued 57, 216-217 

Persons employed as drivers and conductors on railroads 244 

Persons employing children unlawfully to be fined 83, 225-226 

Persons observing another day as Sabbath 64 

Plumbing and drainage in bakeries 41, 190-192 

Plumbing and drainage 249 

Powers and duties of Comm. of Labor 74-79 

Powers and duties of Comm. of Labor, repealed , 204 

Practice of horseshoers without examination 61 

Practice of horseshoers without examination, repealed 220 

Preference in employment upon public works 7 

Processions and parades on Sunday 65 

Process serving on Sunda} r 65 

Prohibited employment of children in street trades 57, 214-217 

Protection of employees operating machines 28, 175-176 

Protection of persons employed on buildings in cities 12, 149-150 

Public holidays, Half holidays 79 



446 INDEX TO LAWS. 

PAGE 

Public service commission law 257-321 

Public sports on Sunday 64 

Public traffic on Sunday 64 

Pulleys, inspection of. 11 

Punishment of Sabbath-breaking 65 

R 

Railroad Law 244 

Refusal to admit Comm. of Labor 220-221 

Refusal to admit inspector to mines and quarries 66, 221 

Refusing to labor, Endangering life by 70 

Registration of horseshoers 61 

Registry of children employed 26, 167-168 

Registry of children employed in mercantile establishments. . . 54, 212-214 

Registration of horseshoers, repealed 220 

Regulation concerning badge and permit of newsboys... . 58, 215-216-217 

Regulation of employment agencies 92-97, 154-157, 227-244 

Regulation of employment agencies, repealed 154 

Repairing articles in tenements 34, 183-188 

Report of accidents in mines 48, 197 

Representation in labor organizations, Fraudulent 71 

Requirements in bakeries 43 

Riding on loaded cars in mines 46, 195 

Rooms, size of, in factories 30 

Ropes, Inspection of, in cities 11 

S 

Sabbath -breaking 63 

Sabbath -breaking, Punishment of 65 

Sale of convict-made goods, License for 18 

Salaries of employees, Money-lenders on 91 

Scaffolding for use of employees 10 

Scaffolding in cities, Inspection of 14 

Scaffolding, Negligently furnishing insecure 69 

Seats for female employees 10 

Seats for female employees, Failure to furnish 68 

Seats for women in mercantile establishments 55 

Size of rooms in factories , 30 

Sleeping places in bakeries 43 

Stairs and doors in factories 28 

State board of mediation and arbitration act, repealed 204 

Statistics, Eailure to furnish to the Comm. of Labor. 66 

Statistics, failure to furnish to the Comm. of Labor, repealed 204 

Statutory Construction Law xxiv 

Steam boilers at mines, Inspection of 47, 195 

Stone used in state and municipal works 8 

Storage of inflammable supplies in mines 46, 195 

Street trades, Employment of children in 57, 214-215-216-217 

Submission of controversies to local arbitrators 202 

Sunday barbering, (Ch. 823, Laws of 1895) 90 



INDEX TO LAWS. 447 



Sunday, Exposure for sale of commodities on 64-65 

Sunday, Persons observing another day as 64 

Sunday, Processions and parades on 65 

Sunday, Public sports on 64 

Suuday, Public traffic on 64 

Sunday, Serving process on 65 

Sunday, Work on 63-65 

Superintendent of public works, duties of 248 



Tackles, Inspection of, in cities 11 

Tenant-factories 180-182 

Tenement house, Definition of 2 

Tenements, Work in 34-41, 183-188 

Timbering and ventilation of mines 46 

Time allowed for meals in factories 32 

Time of taking effect of laws xxiv 

Trades on Sunday 64 

Travelling ways 198-199 

U 

Unclean tenant-factories , 182-183 

Underground working to be equipped with head house and doors. 199-200 
Unlawful dealing in convict-made goods 66 



Ventilation and timbering of mines 46, 195 

Ventilation in factories 31, 177 

Violation of article as to newsboys 59, 215-216-217 

Violations of Labor Law 4 

Violations of sections 8-10, Labor Law, Penalty for 7 

Violations of provisions of Labor Law (Penal Code) 68, 222-223 

W 

Wages, Assignment of future 7 

Wages, Payment of 67 

Wages, Payment of by Receivers 6 

Wages, Payment of to minor 247 

Wages to be cash 6, 148-149 

Wages, When to be paid 6 

Walls and ceilings infactories 30 

Wash-roorus and closets in bakeries 43 

Wash-rooms and water-closets in factories 31, 179 

Wash-rooms and water-closets in mercantile establishments 54 

Women and children in basements, Employment of 55 

Women, Seats for, in mercantile establishments 55 



INDEX TO DECISIONS. 449 



INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUMMARIZED. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Acts of members of unincorporated assn., when unlawful ... 68 326 
Agreement to employ only members of a union not against 

public policy 73 329 

Agreement to assume risk, when void 76 330 

Appliances defective or out of order 83 336 

Assault and battery committed by defendant's clerk 84 337 

Ashes, hoeing of out of engines 86 339 

Assumed risk under Employers' Liability Act 89 342 

Agreement not to employ member of union unauthorized 

restraint 75 329 

Axioms of negligence law 82 336 

Alter ego of master, when servant is 82 336 

Ashes, hoeing out of engine 86 339 

Affirmative duty of employer 89 342 

Acts of superintendence 139 399 

Action must be brought under Employers' Liability Act and 

conform to its terms 138 399 

Brick, falling, injury by 91 343 

Blast furnace, operating of 83 336 

Blast furnace, defective, including danger 83 337 

Bricklayer, injury to 171 426 

Burden of proof, plaintiff has as to contributory negligence. 140 402 

Burden of proof, defendant has as to assumed risk 140 402 

Bricklayer, injury to 152 410 

Building, construction of 157 414 

Contract to employ only members of unions lawful 67 325 

Combining to do lawful act 69 328 

Combining to do lawful act 70 328 

Cable breaking when descending shaft 80 334 

Contract containing unconstitutional provisions of labor law 

not void 6 106 

Competition in business not unlawful 71 328 

Critic; agreement with members of association 69 328 

Contract illegal when affects public interest 76 330 

Cable breaking, result of defects 80 334 

Clerk committing assault 84 337 

Common laborer not chargeable as employer 89 342 

Co-employee, negligence of 92 343 

Co-employee 139 400 

Common law allegations when surplusage 141 402 



450 INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Car coupler, injury to under Employers' Liability Act 143 403 

Common law cause of action not established 146 407 

Contributory negligence, question of fact 160 417 

City ordinance 165 420 

Coal moving off from a pile 160 417 

Complaint alleging negligence 150 409 

Counsel, improper remarks in summing up 110 357 

Consolidated School Law. Child labor, section 5, title 16, 
is a just and valid exercise of police power; not uncon- 
stitutional 53 129 

Dangerous operations 79 333 

Defective cable 80 334 

Door, fastening of 87 340 

Duty of employer to warn servant 79 333 

Dangers incident to the work 79 333 

Damages only such as compensation for pecuniary injuries.. 81 334 

Distinct charge by judge part entitled 81 335 

Derailment of locomotive, injury by 85 338 

Details of work, right to entrust to foreman 112 360 

Druggist liable in preparation of drugs by clerk 90 343 

Difference as to liability under this act and the common law 135 395 

Drill defective, injury by 145 406 

Drugs, compounding of 164 419 

Dynamite exploding, injury by 165 420 

Due process of law 179 430 

Detail of work 160 418 

Derrick, injury in passing 157 414 

Expelled member of a union 3 103 

Establishment of rule where work is dangerous 86 339 

Expert testimony, admissibility of 88 341 

Excavation, duty in making 78 332 

Elevator, injury by manner of construction 137 3-96 

Explosion of digester, injury by 140 401 

Engineer, negligence of when a fellow workman 147 408 

Employment of children under age, liability not absolute.. 174 428 

Employment agencies, act not unconstitutional 180 433 

Elevator negligently constructed 150 409 

Elevator, injury by, dropping with sudden jerk 108 356 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 

Affects only additional not common law liabilities 54 129 

When common laborer does not assume risk as matter of 

law 55 130 

When laborer free from fault as matter of law 55 130 

Promise of employer to repair defect; risk assumed became 

risk of employer 56 131 

Where place servant required to work becomes unsafe; em- 
ployment of foreman binds master ^ 57 131 



INDEX TO DECISIONS. 45 j, 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Railroad company rules not matter of fact as to sufficiency ; 

new rule under Employers' Liability Act to assumption 

of risk 58 132 

Notice within 60 days after appointment of administrator 

though within 120 days not sufficient 59 133 

When Employers' Liability Act does not apply common law 

liability when question for jury 60 133 

Duty to inspect appliance that of master, not servant or 

foreman. Servant's knowledge of defects — effect of 

statute 61 134 

Action may be under Labor Law though facts within Em- 
ployers' Liability Act are not valid 62 135 

See 22 114 

When notice sufficient — when fault of employer and absence 

of fault of employee not shown 63 135 

Negligence of superintendent, a co-employee, not defense 

under this act 64 135 

Employee must establish cause of action under this action, 

not common law cause of action 65 136 

Employers' Liability Act — Labor Law, sec. 18 — Notice of 

injury 66 136 

Employers' Liability Act does not permit courts to rule as 1 

matter of law 113 360 

Employers' Liability Act makes assumption of risk question 

of fact 114 361 

Employers' Liability Act not exclusive or in abrogation of 

common law action 129 392 

Injury by locomotive engine 130 392 

Employers' Liability Act not exclusive or in abrogation of 

common law action 129 392 

Employers' Liability Act does not change general law as to 

contributory negligence 131 394 

Employers' Liability Act imposes a new liability on master 143 403 

Employers' Liability Act, section 3 145 406 

Employers' Liability Act, when notice insufficient 146 406 

Employers' Liability Act changes common law rule 150 410 

Employers' Liability Act, negligence of superintendent 151 410 

Employers' Liability Act,, assumption of risk in dangerous 

Portion I53 411 

Employers' Liability Act, foreman as superintendent 156 413 

Employers' Liability Act, additional cause of action 156 414 

Employers' Liability Act, risk assumed 156 414 

Employers' Liability Act, injury by uncovered hole 158 415 

Employers' Liability Act, scope of employment 158 415 

Employers' Liability Act, negligence question of fact 160 417 

Employers' Liability Act, negligence must be proved 167 422 

Employers' Liability Act, negligence of master 172 427 



452 INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Employers' Liability Act, notice, contents of 169 424 

Employers' Liability Act, facts to constitute cause of action 

under 170 425 

Employers' Liability Act creates liability for acts of super- 
intendent only when engaged in act of superintending. . 175 428 

Fellow servant, negligence of 91 343 

Freedom to contract 74 329 

Fireman, injury to 85 338 

Failure to promulgate a rule 86 339 

Fellow servant, negligent act of 154 412 

Foreman, duties of 158 415 

Factory, construction of 169 423 

Forman, act of in directing plaintiff 172 426 

Fellow servant, negligence of, injury by 173 427 

General principals 78 332 

Gas escaping from defects in blast furnace 83 337 

Glucose factory, injury to oiler of machinery 173 427 

Injury from sorting vanilla beans 79 ~ 333 

Ignorance of dangers 79 333 

Inspection and reasonable care 82 336 

Injury by falling with an elevator 76 330 

Injury while cleaning engine 132 393 

Injury while working on elevated structure. . . 137 397 

Labor organization 1 101 

Labor associations, unincorporated 68 326 

Latent danger known by master 79 333 

Ladder selected which was defective 139 399 

Liability when plaintiff's acts contribute to accident 159 416 

Licensed plumber, when one member of firm not 177 429 

Liability extended 137 397 

LABOR LAW. 

Labor Law, when action depends on 170 425 

Labor Law, failure to comply with 174 428 

Sections 1 and 3 construed 136 396 

Labor Law, section 2 94 345 

No actual notice needed where acts are presumed to be 

known 94 345 

LABOR LAW— Section 3. 

State and municipal employees 5 104 

Labor Law, section 3 constitutional - 5 104 

Labor Law, section 3 unconstitutional 95 345 

Incorporating provisions of Labor Law in contract 6 106 

Employee defined 7 106 

Contract denned 7 106 

Members of fire department not included 7 



106 



The word "hire" does not relate to public officers under city 7 106 



INDEX TO DECISIONS. 453 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Street cleaning department applies to 8 107 

Public work 9 107 

Employee ; right to prevailing wages 10 107 

Taxpayer may avail himself of illegal acts 11 107 

Section 3, which deprives a contractor of compensation un- 
constitutional 12 107 

The part of section 3 which compels insertion of provisions 

in contract unconstitutional 13 108 

Section 3 restricts public work only 14 108 

Contract not void for violation of section 3 15 109 

Employment by day 16 109 

Cannot recover for over time 17 109 

LABOR LAW— Section 8. 

Wages; employees entitled to preference 18 110 

Salesmen included 19 110 

Bookkeepers not preferred 20 111 

Labor Law section 14 unconstitutional 21 111 

Labor Law, sections 15 and 16 96 347 

Label or device may be adopted by union or association of 

employees 96 347 

Labels ; using without authority, penalty 96 347 

LABOR LAW— Section 18. 

Scaffolds; insufficiency of, risk assumed and liability 22 112 

When employees assume risk of employment 23 113 

Responsibility of employee for safe scaffolding 24 113 

Breaking of plank prima facie case 25 113 

When action may be maintained 26 114 

When employers not liable 27 114 

Accident due to fault of employees 28 115 

Where employee erects scaffold 29 116 

Employers' Liability Act, notice 30 116 

Not liable if appliance safe 31 116 

Not liable where danger obvious 32 117 

Employers duty not to be delegated 33 118 

Injury while obeying direction of foreman 34 118 

Scaffold intended" is a complete one 35 119 

Safe scaffold to be furnished, etc 36 119 

Scaffold erected by servant or agent 37 120 

Scaffold, safe and proper scaffold and material to be pro- 
vided 97 348 

Scaffold, what is not 98 348 

Relation of master and servant question for jury 98 349 

If action under section 18 recovery must be under that 

statute 99 349 

Scaffold, plank across two wooden horses is not 99 349 

Brick falling, injury by 100 350 



454 INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Knowledge must be shown that some one was underneath 

scaffolding 100 350 

Hoist, quest for jury whether sufficient 102 351 

Derrick, method of fastening, etc 102 351 

Section 18 makes employer liable only for unsafe scaffold- 
ing, hoist, etc 102 352 

Mechanical contrivance, when box or floor is 103 352 

Cost of action for negligence of master 170 425 

Sections 18 and 19 do not include ordinary staging 101 351 

Sections 18 and 19 make evidence not before competent to 

show negligence 102 352 

Sections 18 and 19 as to construction of scaffolding 169 423 

LABOR LAW— Section 19. 

Enlarges the duty of master or employer 24 113 

Inspection of scaffolding, ropes, blocks and tackles in cities, 25 113 

Accident due to fault of employee 28 115 

LABOR LAW— Section 20. 

Protection of persons employed on buildings in cities 104 353 

Brick falling from above, injury by 104 353 

When not applicable 104 353 

LABOR LAW— Section 70. 

Prohibition of employment of child in factory 38 120 

Children between 14 and 16, when prohibited 39 121 

Machine, operation of, fact for jury 105 353 

Employment certificate bearing on question of defendant's 

negligence 105 354 

LABOR LAW— Section 71. 

Employment of children, when prohibited 39 121 

LABOR LAW— Section 77. 

As to female, unconstitutional 106 354 

To prohibit female working more than 60 hours a week, etc. 106 354 

LABOR LAW— Section 79. 

When applicable 40 122 

LABOR LAW— Section 81. 

When valid by employer 41 122 

Does not require employers to guard against every danger. ,42 123 
Boy under 16 not guilty of contributory negligence as mat- 
ter of law 43 123 

When does not relieve employee from consequence of own 

act or assuming risk or contributory negligence 44 124 

When machinery not required to be covered or guarded. ... 45 124 

Mangle feeding 113 360 

Machinery; section 81 requires to be properly guarded.... 113 360 



INDEX TO DECISIONS. 455 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Planing barrel staves on steam planing machine 114 361 

Requires machinery including planers to be properly 

guarded 114 361 

Servant assumes part of ordinary risk 115 361 

Alter ego applies to obligation to furnish safe place to work 

and safe appliances to work with 115 362 

Servant's duty to get suitable rope for purpose of the work 115 362 
Material proper furnished by master's foreman fault as- 
sumed by workmen 115 362 

Coal trestle, falling from 116 363 

Risk, when not obvious or assumed 117 363 

Machinery for cooperage, section 81, imposes duty of owner 

to guard parts of machinery 118 364 

Only machinery which needs to be guarded 118 365 

Section 81 creates the liability 118 365 

Servant, when assumes risk in order to be employed 118 365 

Assumption of risk and contributory negligence distinct 

things 118 365 

Operation of machinery 119 365 

Inspection by foreman 119 365 

Belt, throwing off on pulley 120 366 

Lighting a place 120 366 

Section 81, certificate to a child 174 428 

LABOR LAW— Section 110. 

Held valid 46 125 

Held invalid and unconstitutional 121 367 

Prohibiting working over hours, see Lochner case 121 367 

Freedom to contract 121 367 

LABOR LAW — Section 122 Construed. 

When employer liable operating talc machine 47 125 

LABOR LAW— Section 162. 
Duties of employer ; contributory negligence of children not 

matter of law 48 126 

LABOR LAW— Sections 180-184. 

Licensing of horSeshoers unconstitutional 49 126 

Master's duty 87 340 

Master's duty to provide safe place to work 82 336 

Master's duty to furnish tools and appliances 87 340 

Master not bound to furnish best known appliance 109 357 

Municipal corporation, when liable for negligence and when 

not 155 412 

Municipal corporation, two kinds of duty imposed on them 155 413 

Mandamus, when alternative writ to issue 176 429 

Machinery, oiling of 156 413 

Master plumber registered 177 429 



456 INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Master plumber, examination and registration of, constitu- 
tional 178 430 

Misconduct in operation or defect in elevator need not be 

proved 108 356 

Negligence 89 342 

Negligence in the conduct of the work 85 338 

Negligence partly of employee and of master 92 343 

Notice under section 2 condition precedent 134 394 

Notice required 137 396 

Not an abridgement of rights of employee 138 399 

Negligence of common law and under Employers' Liability 

Act 142 403 

Necessary risk assumed 159 417 

Negligence, test of 173 427 

Not liable when employed as shipper 131 393 

Organization of working men 2 103 

Overt acts unlawful 69 328 

Omitting to perform duty to employees 89 342 

Opinion of witnesses 88 341 

Principles of law 1 101 

Public policy, if purpose to coerce workmen against 72 329 

Penal Code, section 171a unconstitutional 75 329 

Public officer and servant, when master liable 77 331 

Pipes leading under the street supplying steam 82 336 

Pot slipping from hook 88 341 

Public policy, agreement contrary to 76 330 

Persons engaged in dangerous operations 79 333 

Public policy; when purpose to hamper or restrict freedom 

to pursue trade, etc 72 329 

Pleading cause of action at common law and under Em- 
ployers' Liability Act 141 402 

Plaster mine, injury to workman in 159 416 

Plumbing and Drainage Law mandatory 176 429 

Plumbers, when law as to, unconstitutional 179 430 

Partnership, right to form to conduct business 179 431 

Press or machinery, only reasonable care in operating 110 357 

PENAL CODE. 
Sections 168 and 170. 
What threats and violations of; what threats are lawful. 
Rights of union and non-union men. Boycott when law- 
ful. Agreement not restraint of trade. Conspiracy 
under Penal Code. Demurrer to indictment not sus- 
tained 50 127 

Theaters, when agreement with restrictions not a conspiracy 123 385 

Producing plays, etc., not article of trade 123- 386 

Section 168, Penal Code, makes conspiracy distinct offense. . 124 387 

Overt acts, when to be pleaded 124 387 



!.;* INDEX TO DECISIONS. 457 

subject decision no. page 
Section 171a. 
Compelling another person to enter in agreement not to join 

labor organization 125 387 

Coerce or compel in section 171a not intended to refer to 

physical violence ,, 125 388 

Freedom of contract 125 389 

Baseball games on Sunday 126 389 

Sabbath, protection of 127 390 

Theatrical performances on Sunday 128 390 

Section 171a unconstitutional 75 329 

Section 384h violates Federal Constitution and is invalid.. 51 128 

Section 3841 not valid legislation 106-107 354 

Section 384m unconstitutional 52 129 

Rights of workingmen 1 101 

Reinstatement of an expelled member 3 103 

Right to combine 73 329 

Restraint of freedom to contract 75 329 

Risk when assumed 89 342 

Rule of responsibility at common law 76 330 

Reasonable care required when inspection committed to 

servant 82 336 

Rules ; failure to make and promulgate 86 339 

Railroad company, duty to its employees 86 340 

Railway company violating its own rules 93 344 

Railroad company, when liable for injury 130 393 

Rules of reasonable care by master 142 403 

Risk assumed by employee 144 405 

Risk, when for injury 146 408 

Risk assumed, not a question of law 148 409 

Rule, negligence in not providing 149 409 

Risk assumed, question of fact 160 417 

Rule, failure to adopt 161 418 

Rock, falling of 162 419 

Risk assumed 163 419 

Railroad company failing to adopt method for operating 

road 166 420 

Railroad yard, working in 172 426 

Kails, distributing of along track 147 408 

Scope of employment 77 331 

Shoring up wall 78 332 

Safe place to work 85 338 

Shutters, fastening of 87 340 

Servant's act to be determined as if not a public officer 77 331 

Safe place to work 82 336 

Safe place to work 85 338 

Science ; skill 88 341 

Superintendent • 132 393 



458 INDEX TO DECISIONS. 

SUBJECT DECISION NO. PAGE 

Switch, moving while train passing, injury by 133 394 

Safe place, at common law 135 395 

Safe place, as to 136 396 

Superintendent, or acting as such 143 404 

Superintendent, action by for negligence under Employers' 

Liability Act 144 405 

Superintendent no less an employee, when 144 405 

Station agent, injuries to 148 408 

Safe place to work 157 415 

Safe place to work 159 416 

Skilled laborer, injury to 167 422 

Steel rails, cutting of 167 422 

Scaffold, construction of 169 423 

Scaffold, duty of master in respect to 170 425 

Safe place to work in 171 426 

Similar accident may be proved 108 357 

Trench, injury while working in 82 336 

Treasurer when liable ( of unincorporated association ) 4 104 

Test of negligence 173 427 

Typewritten notice under Employers' Liability Act is notice 

in writing 140 402 

Trains, making up of 143 404 

Testimony incompetent 110 357 

Unincorporated labor association, acts unlawful 68 326 

Unsafe place through negligence of fellow servant 163 419 

Plumbers. 

Unconstitutional, Chapter 803 of 1896 177 429 

UNITED STATES EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY LAW. 

Unconstitutional, law as to common carriers 181 435 

When organization legal 2 103 

When lawful 70 328 

When acts unlawful 71 328 

Where damages are indefinite, prospective and contingent. . 81 334 

When party entitled to distinct charge without qualification 81 335 

When failure to promulgate rules question for jury 86 339 

When rule applies as to payment of costs in first action. . . . 134 394 

When action not under Employers' Liability Act 138 398 

Warning of approaching danger 138 398 

When sufficient suitable material furnished master not liable 139 401 

Window, closing of 162 418 

[See Addenda for very latest decisions.] 



ADDENDA. 459 



ADDENDA. 

BOYCOTTS HELD TO BE CONSPIRACY. 

American Federation of Labor a trust so far as its boycotts are con- 
cerned. And those injured thereby entitled to recover from the indi- 
vidual members of the organization for three-fold damages sustained 
thereby as provided under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. D. E. Lowe 4 
Company v. Martin Laicler and 200 other members of the Local Hatters' 
Union. 

This case was commenced in the Federal Court in Connecticut by 
plaintiffs, hat manufacturers of Danbury, Conn., to recover $80,000 dam- 
ages to the firm's trade by reason of the boycott by the union because 
plaintiff's refused to make their factory a union factory. 

The complaint alleged the concerted efforts of the union had compelled 
seventy of the largest hat factories of the United States to grant the 
union demands, while twelve, including plaintiff's factory were open 
shops. That plaintiffs employed 230 persons and their yearly output 
was worth $400,000, of which all but $10,000 went outside the State of 
Connecticut. The facts relating to the boycott were also alleged in the 
complaint. 

Defendants interposed a demurrer which was sustained by the trial 
court, holding that the Sherman Anti-Trust Law did not cover such a 
case. Plaintiffs appealed to the Federal Court of Appeals, which certi- 
fied the question to the Supreme Court of the United States without 
passing upon it, and the Supreme Court, on account of the importance 
of the questions involved, advanced the case out of turn and brought up 
by writ of certiorari, the entire record in the case. 

Held, Chief Justice Fuller delivering the opinion which was concurred 
in by all the justices, that the combination described in the complaint 
was a combination in restraint of trade or commerce among the several 
States in the sense in which those words are used in the Sherman Law, 
declaring illegal every combination in the form of a trust or otherwise, 
or conspiracy in restraint of trade among the several States, and pro- 
viding penalties for those who monopolize or attempt to monopolize or 
combine or conspire with any other person or persons to monopolize any 
part of such trade and declaring that three-fold damages may be re- 
covered by any person who shall be injured in his business or property 
by any other person or corporation by reason of anything forbidden or 
declared to be unlawful by this act. 

Held, that the combination alleged in the complaint falls within the 
class of restraints of trade aimed at compelling third parties and 



460 ADDENDA. 

strangers involuntarily not to engage in the course of trade except on 
conditions that the combination imposes and that at common law every 
person has individuality, and the public has collectively a right to re- 
quire that the course of trade shall be kept from unreasonable obstruc- 
tion. 

Held also, that the objections to the jurisdiction that the declaration 
does not state a case within the statute ; that physical obstruction is not 
alleged as contemplated and that defendants are not engaged in inter- 
state trade untenable. 

That although some of the means whereby the interstate traffic was 
to be destroyed were acts within a State and some of them were in 
themselves, as a part of their obvious purpose and effect, beyond the 
scope of Federal authority, still the case must be considered as a whole, 
and the plan is open to condemnation, notwithstanding a negligible 
amount of interstate business might be affected by carrying it out. 

That the act in question cannot be held inapplicable because defend- 
ants were not themselves engaged in interstate commerce. That the act 
makes no distinction between classes but provides that every contract, 
combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade is illegal. That as 
defendants were engaged in a combined scheme and effort to force all 
manufacturers of fur hats in the United States, including the plaintiffs, 
against their will and their previous policy of carrying on their busi- 
ness, to organize their workmen in the departments of making and 
finishing in each of their factories into an organization to be part and 
parcel of the said combination known as the United Hatters of North 
America, to unionize their shops with the intent thereby to control the 
employment of labor in and the operation of said factories and to sub- 
ject the same to the direction and control of persons other than the 
owners of the same, in a manner extremely onerous, and distasteful to 
such owners, and to carry out such schemes, effort and purpose by 
restraining and destroying the interstate trade and commerce of such 
manufacturers by means of intimidation of and threats made to such 
manufacturers and their customers in the several States, of boycotting 
them, their product and their customers, using therefor all the powerful 
means at their command, until such time as from the damage and loss 
of business resulting therefrom the said manufacturers should yield to 
the said demand to unionize their factories. That the conspiracy or 
combination has so far progressed that out of 82 manufacturers of this 
country 70 had accepted the terms and acceded to the demands that their 
shops be conducted in accordance with the will of the American Federa- 
tion of Labor, and the local unions demanded of plaintiffs, that they 
unionize their shop under peril of being boycotted by this combination, 
and thereupon said Federation of Labor, acting through its official organ 
and through its organizers, declared a boycott. 

Held that a case within the statute was set up. 

Lowe & Co. v. Laivler et al., U. S. Supreme Court, January, 1908. 



ADDENDA. 461 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 
Rules and Principles Formulated. 

Employer is not liable for the negligent act of an employee simply 
because the latter ordinarily is engaged in the discharging duties of 
superintendence. 

Employer is not exempted from liability for acts of superintendence 
simply because it is one which may be described in some sense as " a 
detail of the work." 

An employer is liable or not according as the negligent act is one of 
or pertaining to superintendence, or is one which is the subject of per- 
formance by ordinary, subordinate employees, and including no element 
of superior duty, supervision or command. 

To render the master liable the negligence must not only be on the 
part of the person who is acting as superintendent, but also in an act 
of superintendence. But if the act be of that character the fact that 
in a sense it is a detail of the work will not relieve the master from 
liability. 

Before the statute it was unnecessary to distinguish between negli- 
gence of a superintendent and that of a co-laborer of the same grade as 
that of the person injured so far as any liability of the master was 
involved The statute has changed this. 

That the question in any case brought under the statute is not whether 
the negligent act is a detail of the work, but whether it is a detail of 
the superintendent's part of the work, . or of the subordinate employees 
and servants. 

It is for the jury to say whether the act is comprehended within the 
lines of duty as superintendent or the act of an ordinary employee 
engaged with others. 

That it is error for the court to charge the jury that being a super- 
intendent for general purposes he was powerless to divest himself of 
that character, and that every act performed by him, including, of 
course, the one which resulted in the injury, was an act performed by 
him as superintendent rather than as an ordinary coworker, and for the 
negligent character of which liability was incurred. 

Gallagher v. Newman, 190 N. Y. 444, reversing 119 App. Div. 865. 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 
Acts of Superintendence. 

To whatever extent he may superintend the work given him in charge, 
his acts of negligence is not chargeable to the master unless his sole or 
principal duty he that of superintendence. 

That the liability created by the Employers' Liability Act is in dero- 
gation of common law and the act is subject therefore, to strict construc- 
tion. 



462 ADDENDA. 

Williams v. Citizens' Steamboat Co., 122 App. Div. 188, reversing 
Trial Court, new trial granted. 

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT. 

Casts liability on the employer for the negligence of his superintendent 
only when the negligent act is in the course of superintendence. 

Where the act is not one done in superintendence and has no relation 
to his status as superintendent, but the work of a fellow servant, de- 
fendant not liable. 

Kujava v. Irving, 122 App. Div. 375, judgment and order reversed, 
new trial granted. 

The Labor Law, section 70, as amended by chap. 184 of 1903, section 
162, prohibiting the employment of children under fourteen years of age 
in a mercantile establishment, does not apply to children over fourteen 
years of age. 

And in the absence of proof to the contrary the legal presumption is 
that a child over fourteen years of age is sui juris, and is chargeable 
with contributory negligence. 

Fortune v. Hall, 122 App. Div. 250, reversing trial court, and new 
trial granted. 

LABOR LAW, SECTION 81— PLEADINGS. 

Where plaintiff desires to rely upon a violation of the Labor Law, the 
complaint must allege a case therefor. 

And where the complaint alleges the negligence of defendant in per- 
mitting a pool of oil to remain upon the platform upon which its garnet 
machine stood, and its negligent failure to inspect said machine so as to 
prevent the oil from dropping on the platform, by reason of which he 
slipped upon the oily surface of the platform, fell into the machine and 
was injured by its roller. 

Held, that leaving a pool of oil near an unguarded machine is just as 
negligent whether it is practicable to guard the machine or not, for the 
negligence is not in leaving the machine unguarded but in leaving the 
oil upon the floor where an employee is liable to slip and be thrown into 
the unguarded machine. 

Held also that it was improper to say that machines in this and other 
factories were guarded, for it was entirely immaterial under the plead- 
ing whether it was practicable to guard this machine or not. 

Also held that irrespective of the Labor Law the jury may have deter- 
mined that it was negligence to put the plaintiff at work around an 
unguarded machine. 

Judgment and order of trial court reversed, new trial granted. 

Martin v. Walker & Williams Mfg. Co., 122 App. Div. 280. 



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